Having now seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix twice (first with K. and yesterday with KA), I wanted to record some impressions before turning attention fully to the books. Foremost of these was that seeing the movie, each time, really did reinvigorate me for reading the books. This stands in stark contrast with the aftereffects of Goblet of Fire, which had been my favorite of the books and thus made me the most anxious as to how it would fare as a film. Not to dwell too long on its shortcomings, sufficed to say that I could only console myself at how much worse it could have been, and felt the movies’ appeal had returned overall to a pale shadow of the books since the higher regard they had achieved after Cuaron’s Prisoner of Azkaban raised the bar. The difference, then, is that while still no substitute for the books - and more clearly viewed as meant not to be such - the OOTP movie reminded me of what was great about the book while trimming away much of what would not have translated well to screen.

The movie boils down the story to its core elements, namely the fledgling trials of the Order against a paranoid and stonewalling Ministry of Magic; the reign of terror by a-hemming Umbridge at Hogwarts; and the formation and trial by fire of Dumbledore’s Army. The two major characters introduced, Dolores Umbridge and Luna Lovegood, were both inspired casting (particularly newcomer Evanna Lynch as Luna, after beating out the reported 15,000 who auditioned). It is already hard to imagine someone other than Imelda Staunton playing Umbridge, her steel fist inside a pink doily. Even without her telltale toadiness, since we’ve accepted Hermione without large front teeth and Harry without green eyes, so Umbridge can be unctuous and evil without appearing so. Lynch’s Luna was a greater departure than my imagining from the book, but her sweet serenity and lilting voice convey Luna’s essence well. Harry’s relationship with Sirius is emphasized leading up to the climax at the Department of Mysteries, and his perpetual anger and isolation from the book is toned down, discussed directly with Sirius (”I’m angry, all the time!”) and addressed by Luna (”…you’re much less of a threat”). Even the long-awaited (and now anticlimactic) kiss with Cho is tolerably sweet - first Harry can’t stop talking, then they stand completely apart during the kiss, and the wrap-up in the Common Room with Ron and Hermione is a hoot.

Also notable is its incorporation of book 6 lore, with subtle foreshadowing of Ginny’s feelings for Harry each time you see her react to his infatuation with Cho (after the initial meeting of the DA, before the mistletoe, etc). Also more developed is Ron and Hermione’s relationship with each other, which is more genuinely friendly and teasing rather than each just being friends with Harry. Ron notably tells off Grawp in her defense (and also feigns chivalry after falling to her in a DA duel). Less welcome is the hijacking of Levicorpus from its place in the Half-Blood Prince textbook margins to an apparent replacement for Wingardium Leviosa aka Levitation Charm - we see it used (more or less accurately) in DA training in the Room of Requirement, then aberrantly in Snape’s memory by James, and bizarrely by Luna in the prophecy room to throw a Death Eater out of sight. As for other spells, we also get several appearances of Protego, aka Shield Charm - in place of the Pensieve for Harry to access Snape’s Worst Memory during Occlumency lessons, used by Umbridge to defend against centaur archers, and possibly during the Death Eaters melee. The Patronus forms of the DA shown include a horse for Ginny, rabbit for Luna, Hermione’s otter, and a larger dog (not apparently a Jack Russell terrier) for Ron. Everyone gets to Stupefy, and Neville finally manages Expelliarmus. Ginny’s immensely powerful Reducto curse is given center stage twice, once atomizing their target dummy in DA training and then totally leveling the prophecy room in their running fight with the Death Eaters. We get several mentions of the Cruciatus Curse (Umbridge plans to use it on Harry, Neville and Sirius both mention its use on the Longbottoms) but its only application is by Harry on Bellatrix, which really just serves to knock her down. And rather than falling stupefied through the veil, Sirius gets a proper Avada Kedavra by Bellatrix, perhaps to address widespread speculation that his disappearance did not mean his death.

What does not appear could make for an even longer list, and be cause for much teeth gnashing and disappointment. For example:

• We never even hear St. Mungo’s mentioned, and we only see the Longbottoms in a picture of the original OOTP and Arthur Weasley after he returns to Grimmauld Place following the attack.
• Quidditch is again completely absent, and thus along with it Luna’s lion hat and “Weasley is our King.”
• The new prefects are never mentioned.
• Kreacher appears, but not Mrs. Weasley’s boggart, any of the portraits other than the family tapestry, or the mysterious locket.
• The Department of Mysteries is limited only to the prophecy room and pit with the veil, plus the Wizengamot courtroom, so no room with brains or revolving doors.
• Lily does not appear in Snape’s memory of the Marauders.
• The Quibbler only appears during Luna’s introduction, and Rita Skeeter not at all.
• Firenze does not replace Trelawney.
• The Weasley’s grand exit does not include the swamp, nor their famous adhortation of Peeves (what I thought might have been Peeves in the trailer was their dragon rocket pursuing Umbridge).
• The statues do not come alive during Dumbledore’s fight with Voldemort.

Of these, I was personally hoping for the living statues and the swamp to appear, as both were strong visuals that were still within the narrowed focus of the film. Many of the other exclusions are dealt with via smaller scenes (Neville talks about his parents instead of visiting them, Sirius’ replacing James with Harry is cut down to two lines), consolidating characters (Cho gets the blame for breaking up the DA, albeit under Veritaserum, instead of Marietta), or are in line with past cuts, e.g. Quidditch and the brains would both add considerable CG requirements.

Ultimately, OOTP worked for me more as a movie than any other except Prisoner of Azkaban. It had good (fast but not breakneck like Goblet) pacing, a balanced mix of drama and humor, chances for character development between action pieces, and some real hero moments like the arrival of the Order and particularly Dumbledore at the Ministry. It strongly highlighted themes (e.g. Umbridge’s racial bias, the Ministry’s increasing totalitarianism) that are a little scattered in the book. The Daily Prophet was used to good effect for peripheral insets and quick expositional transitions (although it didn’t follow Azkaban’s example and carry it through the credits). And I found myself wanting to discuss the movie rather than critique it, defend its shortcomings vs lambast them, and move immediately back into the series rather than take a break to regain my passion. Considering they made the shortest movie about the longest (and quite complex) book with a director coming from mostly TV series, it’s a wonder just how good it is.