chomiji | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix [movie] (Reply)

Actually, I quite liked it ... but (1) I've almost given up expecting much from the actual book series, and (2) I've pretty much forgotten what happened in the book. So your reactions to the movie might not be the same as mine.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (movie review)

I was especially taken with the performances by Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood (see the icon) and Allan Rickman as Snape. Luna has faced death and survived, and now she has reached that happy Nirvana where nothing much bothers her and everything wrong can be at least ameliorated by a suitable application of pudding. (One mainstream reviewer noted that although many people will like the character, they probably wouldn't want to be stuck in a railway compartment with her. But I think I could handle it ... .) Rickman does a amazing things with a very small amount of screen time indeed, and Snape's ambiguity continues to be fascinating. At the moment, I'm leaning toward "Snape is a horrible human being but not evil and not a traitor - he has honor even if he barely has humanity, and maybe, given his history, he's actually doing as well as can be expected."

I'm not claiming that the movie is anything significant on the historical scale, but it kept my attention and gave me some emotional payoff, and I had no trouble suspending my disbelief for everything except Hagrid's unfortunate brother. In particular, the sequence from the point at which Umbridge's inquisitors broke down the wall to the secret training ground of Dumbledore's Army until the end of the battle in the Ministry of Magic had me quite literally on the edge of my seat (and indeed, gripping the back of the seat in front of me by the very end).

The audience at our showing cheered and clapped at appropriate spots during the movie, which I always take as a good sign. And I would like to extend my congratulations (along with a token slap on the wrist) to the audience member who managed to make himself heard above the roar of jeering and laughter that broke out when the witless, cowardly Minister of Magic finally admitted that Voldemort had returned. I'm sure that all of us wanted to exclaim, as that leather-lunged individual did, "No shit, Sherlock!"