Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

2007 #78
David Yates | 138 mins | cinema | 12A / PG-13

The main problem here lies in trying to condense a 600+ page novel into a bit over two hours. While the book feels padded, watching the film it becomes apparent that this actually builds mystery and suspense, most of which is lost in what feels like a series of extended montages that create an abridged version of the book. The direction is stylish and there are still some neat action sequences, but it lacks much of the fun or flowing coherence of the previous two entries.

Hopefully the next novel can be translated to the screen better, though I’m beginning to fear that anything less than using two films to adapt the final book will be a mistake.