Okay, so I watched it. In short:
If you’ve read the books you’ll probably love this movie as it brings to life everything you love about Harry Potter.
If you haven’t read the books, you’ll just be confused and nothing will make sense.
I fall into the latter category. It’s not that I couldn’t follow the plot. Good guys vs. bad guys. I get it. The problem is that nothing on the way made any sense.
It makes me a little bit sad watching the movie because I can see the potential. I can see that there must be some very deep, colorful, and meaningful characters in the story. I can see that there is an interesting (although derivative) story under it all.
So why doesn’t it translate? Most importantly is character development. The movie seems to simply assert who I should care about without giving me reason or letting me get to know the character.
Half the time, I don’t even know the character’s name or why they’re there. Characters that get a lot of screentime like Fred and George Weasley end up being nothing but comedic relief and are apparently not characters I should be concerned about as true allies to our protagonist.
Other characters like the Weasley girl (see, I don’t even know her name), are a total footnote but then somehow important in ways that the movie doesn’t bother explaining as she is along for the more important missions they undertake.
Then there’s the romance. It makes no sense. I have no idea who is supposed to like who. Hermione has more chemistry with Potter than anyone else, but I think they might want me to believe that it’s really her and Ron that should hook up.
Then there’s Cho. Who is she and why does Harry have his lips all over her? And what’s with the crazy blonde chick who seems to have the hots for Potter? And I’m not sure, but I think I’m also supposed to believe that the Weasley girl and Harry have something going on.
(on a side note, when presented with those three choices, always go with the girl who’s name is Lovegood)
Harry Potter is either a pimp, or this movie is having a very difficult time conveying complex relationships that are no doubt explained in great detail in the novels.
It makes no sense. I don’t know who these people are, and thus I do not care about their fate. People could die in fits of agony and gore in this movie and I simply wouldn’t care.
As for the good, Umbridge is a completely despicable character whose death I wanted to come early and often. She was the one character who I actually had any feelings toward at all.
The special effects were perfectly adequate. I wouldn’t call them breathtaking, but they certainly did what they needed to in order to progress the sluggish story.
Meh. I can’t give this movie an F because I know that under it all it probably delivered to Potter fans in spades. To the Potter layman, though, it’s just a mess of a movie with few redeeming qualities.
Verdict: D+
[...] dinner before going off to see “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”. My friend Lykaon was not a fan, but he also has not read the books. We saw it in IMAX, and really enjoyed it. No [...]