Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

After being disappointed with the 4th movie, I somewhat reluctantly went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night.

And after finally rolling into bed after 3:00 am, I have no regrets!

Finally a director gives the fans the movie we've wanted. Yates does a great job including the little details, scenes and characters that make this book.

But let me say that I am a book purist. JK has written such a great saga, I feel a director needs a good reason to change her story. Changing the maze from a series of tests to a Venus Fly Trap like human devouring plant, for example, makes no sense! Or having Dumbledore assault Harry destroys the loving, caring character we know from the books.

The small changes in OoP movie never hurt the plot or went against the books. My only 2 complaints for this movie are pretty minor. First Dumbledore and Sirius Black refer to Voldemort as the "Dark Lord". That bothers me since only Death Eaters call him that. The other minor problem is the way in which Sirius dies. In the book he falls through the veil. However, in the movie we see Bellatrix cast the Avada Kadavra and then he falls through the veil. But it leaves no doubt about his fate!

But in this installment they got more right than wrong. So much of the dialogue seemed to be taken word for word from the text.

The new characters appear to have materialized from the books. Luna Lovegood is the perfect mix of a ethereal, strange, disturbed, and likable girl.

The first time you hear Umbridge cough you can't help but smile.

The scenes with DA training are incredible. And I actually enjoyed the movies interpretation better than how JK describes them!

And finally we get to see a battle! I waited years to see Yoda fight, and I held the same type of anticipation to see Dumbledore in action.

The battle between the Order and the Death Eaters was beautifully choreographed with great action, special affects, and drama. But I wanted more from the Dumbledore/Voldemort battle. While a great visual battle, I craved to see Dumbledore show his power so casually as he does in the books. In the books I love the way he is involved in a deathly battle but never raises his voice, loses control or struggles. Dumbledore continues, in the books, to stay calm and infuriate Voldemort with his tone. Michael Gambin again fails to grasp the true character of Dumbledore. And as you leave that final scene you feel as if Dumbledore lost the fight and barely survived.

Overall it is a breath of fresh air after the travesty of the fourth movie! This was made with the fans in mind. Thanks Yates for remembering us!

How Can He Still Be Dumbledore?

Check out his newest interview! He admits, again, that he really doesn't understand the story!

"Well, I read the script and learn the lines and I try to understand. I have to understand it, don't I, sort of . . . Quite often I don't know what's going on."

Read more...

Show WB and JK You Want Better!

Post your comments here and send a message to Warner Brothers and Rowling that you've had enough of Gambon!

We want, we demand better!

Out in left field!

I wondered when I first saw POA what was up with the new Dumbledore. Now with GOF, I can't believe how wrong Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore is!

Let's just go over a few of these moments.

"Eternal Glory"

Our Dumbledore said things like:
"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"



Why does he have to look so dirty? From reading the books people suspected he could be the Half Blood Prince because of his regal robes. Gambon's Dumbledore looks like a poor tramp!



And worst of all, Gambon yells at Harry and then physically shakes him! What happen to the Dumbledore that loved Harry?

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How Stuborn Can He Be?

News: Michael Gambon talks about Dumbledore, books & kids

He hasn't even read the books? What?? Are you kidding?

Gambon isn't portraying a smaller character like Cedric Digory. Maybe you could play that type of charater from just reading a script. But not Dumbledore!

And he even admits that lots of the stories are left out of the scripts. Shouldn't this clue you in that maybe, just maybe the author put a little more character information in the book?

This is just completely unacceptable!

We as fans deserve better.

Look at the example of Matt Lewis. He not only reads the books, he studies them to prepart himself for the role.

If Michael Gambon can't give us as fans the respect to prepare himself for the role, then we as fans should demand better!

Call to Arms for All HP Fans

Stand up and demand better from Warner Brothers and JK Rowling!

Fire Michael Gambon!