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Movie Overview
Cast
• Daniel Radcliffe
• Rupert Grint
• Emma Watson
Director
• David Yates
MPAA Rating
PG-13 - for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS OTHER
OFCS Rating: 74% Fresh
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"Projecting great emotional depth, Daniel Radcliffe shows his growth as an actor in this most serious Harry Potter adventure so far."  ReelTalk Movie Reviews  Betty Jo Tucker

C+
"In a series this good, there's bound to be a mild low point and it seems certain that Order of the Phoenix is it."  FromTheBalcony  Bill Clark

3.5/5
"But for full fledged fantasy that doesn't skimp on the imagination or the intrigue, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a brave, exciting entertainment."  PopMatters  Bill Gibron

A-
"Phoenix manages to top that potential in an immense way, compacting the longest "Potter" book into the shortest film yet, streamlining the urgency into a tasty pudding fan and non-fan should positively respond to."  OhmyNews.com  Brian Orndorf

3/5
"not a bad way to spend an afternoon, but even in a summer of uncommonly weak blockbusters, casual fans can probably find more thrilling ways to spend two hours"  Filmcritic.com  Christopher Null

B
"Although marred by some inept editing by Mark Day, The Order of the Phoenix is the first of the series to resound as a multifaceted narrative that understands its own intentions. It is intelligent."  ColeSmithey.com  Cole Smithey

"Order of the Phoenix, for all its shortcomings, does make clear the sense of loss and struggle that comes with maturity."  PopMatters  Cynthia Fuchs

5/5
"Phoenix reminds us that effects-laden blockbusters can also have heart and soul."  eFilmCritic.com  David Cornelius

A-
"Suspenseful and dark, this new Harry Potter is a stylish transition of the franchise on nearly every level: its mood, its plot, and most dangerously, its audience."  EDGE Boston  David Foucher

3.5/4
"Complex, meditative & inspired in the way it allows tug-of-war fantasy ideals to be combined with elements of human drama and political intrigue."  Cinemaphile.org  David Keyes

3.5/4
"An entertaining marvel of invention and storytelling. The series' reigning achievement and one of this summer's smartest and most invigorating releases."  DustinPutman.com  Dustin Putman

3/5
"La adolescencia le sienta bien a Harry Potter y sus compañeros en esta quinta entrega de la serie, en la que hay emoción, romance, humor, fantasía, terror y extraordinarios efectos visuales."  Uruguay Total  Enrique Buchichio

B+
"The movie works the way a Harry Potter movie ought to. It's not perfect -- a few ends remain loose, a few characters get shafted -- but it's very good."  EricDSnider.com  Eric D. Snider

3.5/4
"Weaves the beginning of the series' backend into maybe the best of the series to date leaving us in a state of anticipatory bliss of how it will all end."  eFilmCritic.com  Erik Childress

"The director, Peter Yates, pastes on the chiaroscuro, but under it is the summer-camp flatness that's always been the franchise's trademark"  CinePassion  Fernando F. Croce

C+
"After the exceptional quality of the last two installments,...a letdown. This chapter of the story feels like it's just biding time."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

4/5
"A rousing adventure that includes Harry Potter's first kiss, his encounter with the odiousness of order, his feelings of loneliness in the face of an indifferent world, and his slow realization of the support of his friends."  Spirituality and Practice  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

3.5/4
"With its fifth cinematic outing, the Harry Potter film series has ascended to another level."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

2.5/5
"There is a sense of being rushed throughout the film without any real dramatic urgency; it is more like a speed-tour through the narrative's greatest hits, with each scene beginning a little too late and ending a little too early."  Q Network Film Desk  James Kendrick

"Good, but not great. Fans expecting more than simply 'good' would be disappointed . . ."  Sci-Fi Movie Page  James O'Ehley

2/4
"an exercise in patience and loyalty to have to sit through, at least for fans of the past two films"  Perihelion Journal  Jay Antani

9/10
"Yates doesn't miss a beat -- Harry is still angry and conflicted, and the world around him appears to grow even more unfair."  Window to the Movies  Jeffrey Chen

5/10
"Decent...but it simply lacks the spark, novelty and, dare I say, magic that made the earlier pics enjoyable and entertaining"  Screen It!  Jim Judy

3.5/4
"The fifth in this unthinkably good franchise is the darkest yet and features fine work from a new writer and director, as well as a supporting cast which is nothing short of magical."  Big Picture Big Sound  Joe Lozito

6/10
"...when it's finished, there is the lingering feeling that nothing has really happened."  DVDTown.com  John J. Puccio

3.5/5
"O kinimatografika agnostos David Yates, deyteros Bretanos skinothetis tis seiras kai me kainoyrio senariografo, bgainei san o pio diabasmenos sta biblia tis Rowling, katafernontas na ksehorisei me akribeia ta nimata ap' ta selidotoybla tis pubobias syggra"  Movies for the Masses  Joseph Proimakis

2.5/5
"Grossly misfired where its predecessors had so (seemingly) effortlessly gone before. I was taking the high quality of the Potter movies for granted, like a Pixar or an Aardman movie. Bring back Steve Kloves! Crucio!"  Cinerina  Karina Montgomery

2.5/5
"Harry Potter fanatics will have a field day pointing out the numerous omissions from the book."  Film-Forward.com  Kent Turner

3.0/4.0
"Only true fans of the books will notice many of these shortcomings, but I must hope that this was a fluke or misstep, not a sign of things to come."  MovieCrypt.com  Kevin A. Ranson

3/5
"this isn't as much a full chapter in the seven-part series, but rather the set-up for the last two films"  7M Pictures  Kevin Carr

B+
"Director David Yates, the first Brit to helm the series, invests "Order of the Phoenix" with a very sinister tone from his opening frames..."  Reeling Reviews  Laura Clifford

2.5/4
"It feels like a placeholder, not because little happens but because so much plot must be served in order to set up subsequent events that there's no room for the gentle human moments that anchor Rowling's heroic fantasy epic to the everyday world."  TV Guide's Movie Guide  Maitland McDonagh

3.5/4
"The story, obviously, is darker and more mature, and the film itself understands more than the others before it what it means to be Harry Potter."  Mark Reviews Movies  Mark Dujsik

7/10
"Every single Potter film is magical. Now they also seem to be getting more intelligent also."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  Mark R. Leeper

2.5/4
"Another jumble of special effects, plot shards, celebrity cameos, and sometimes-impressive imagery"  Movie Habit  Marty Mapes

"[T]his may be the best straight-up horror movie of the year -- I was riveted by the sinister sophistication of it."  Flick Filosopher  MaryAnn Johanson

3/5
"Despite its structural flaws, it often delivers the goods."  Goatdog's Movies  Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

3/4
"While I definitely like the movie, I don't think Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the best film in the series because it's essentially all middle. In and of itself, the film does not really provide any kind of payoff."  Aisle Seat  Mike McGranaghan

B+
"Staunton magnificently personifies the banality of evil as Umbridge, all steely resolve and poisonous sugar."  Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies  Nell Minow

2.5/4
"Now that Harry has ditched childhood, it seems high time the franchise also dispatches with its immature and draggy literal-mindedness."  Slant Magazine  Nick Schager

3/5
"Acaba soando mais como preparativo para os acontecimentos dos dois últimos capítulos de uma série que, de um modo ou de outro, ainda não trouxe motivos reais para desapontamentos."  Cinema em Cena  Pablo Villaca

2.5/5
"Order of the Phoenix is the shortest Harry Potter movie so far, but feels like a James Michener miniseries."  Film Threat  Pete Vonder Haar

4/5
"The results may be darker and less family-friendly than previous installments but this ambitious take comes as a welcome shot in the arm for a series that could just as easily be running on fumes at this point."  eFilmCritic.com  Peter Sobczynski

4/5
"The story is told with bracing efficiency and clever humour, and features solid acting from the expanding cast."  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline

C+
"Cinema often requires the sacrifice of facts for feelings, a reality that leaves this barely satisfactory affair clinging to its literary predecessor for life support."  Projection Booth  Rob Humanick

B-
"[Its] magic still remains -- deep and abiding, with enough strength to take us through another serviceable Harry Potter adventure."  Flipside Movie Emporium  Rob Vaux

B
"Both slow and hurried. A lot of fine actors get little screen time, but it gets the job done."  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

"With the supremely evil Valdemort having put in an appearance at the end of the previous film, you might think it would be time to circle the wagons and start planning some defensive strategies ... but you would be wrong."  ESplatter  Steve Biodrowski

B
"The level of magical eye candy is noticeably lower… [yet] no longer is Harry just The Boy Things Happen To, but The Boy Who Acts. It's a welcome step forward in a wunderkind boy of destiny on the road to true heroism."  Decent Films Guide  Steven D. Greydanus

7/10
"It's kind of like "Star Wars: Episode I," perhaps the weakest chain in the link but necessary as a transition to the next two installments."  www.susangranger.com  Susan Granger
OFCS Rating: 74% Fresh
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