Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth part of the popular series about the Boy-who-lived released in 2007.

Mike Newell, the director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, passed the baton to David Yates, who immediately introduced into the series the features of his own style. The films about Harry Potter keep on getting more tragic and sinister. The kids' fairytale is successfully frightening adults. There is a tendency in the world of fantasy movies to shoot very dark and gloomy films. The new part of the Harry Potter saga can be compared to the Pan's Labyrinth, which is balancing on the edge between a fantasy and a horror film.

The movie makes you feel alarmed and even scared from the very beginning when Harry and Dudley are attacked by dementors. This is probably the first time since the first film release when the spectators feel sorry for Dudley - that stupid fatty got so many troubles thanks to his cousin that Harry seems to be fully revenged for his years of torments in the Dursleys' house.

The Dark Lord gets stronger and acquires new allies. The number of the Death Eaters is growing day by day.

The death of Cedric Diggory and Harry's story about the fight with Voldemort has shocked the whole magic world, but strangely, many wizards are inclined not believe Harry and to accuse him of most dreadful things. Instead of confirming his status of a hero, Harry suddenly turns into a pariah. Only with Dumbledore's help the boy manages to escape the expulsion from Hogwarts. Harry and his friends get to know about the Order of the Phoenix - a secret organization founded by Dumbledore in the years of the first war against the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. Now the Order reunites to protect Harry. Among the Order's members Harry meets his godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman)
The terrible subconscious connection with Voldemort that Harry has recently discovered intensifies, and he is continuously having dreadful visions of the Dark Lord torturing his victims.

In Hogwarts there are new rules and new faces. Dolores Umbrige, whose image is wonderfully created by Imelda Staunton, is a new defense against the dark arts teacher. Her methods are cruel, and the students get neither training nor knowledge in the subject, which is so important in the times of the Dark Lord's revival. The interesting fact is that Stephen King noted that the success of any novel and movie is due to a great villain, with Umbridge being the "greatest make-believe villain since Hannibal Lecter...".

In this part we will come across new fascinating personages and great scenes of duels between the good and evil. The Dark Lord who is hunting for some sinister prophesy during the whole film appears in the end to fight Dumbledore. Traditionally, the good triumphs over the evil, but Harry Potter suffers the most terrible loss: the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius.

In the end Dumbledore tells Harry the secret prophesy which was so much desired by the Dark Lord. The essence of it is that Harry and Voldemort are deeply connected, and one of them is fated to kill the other.

As well as in previous movies about Harry Potter, the cast showed a great performance. The acting of Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter deserves especial attention. Both of them appear on the screen only in a number of short episodes, but play so convincingly, that those episodes are among the best in the movie. All scenes of Harry's communicating to Sirius, his only near relational and a kindred soul, are very strong and sincere. And as for Helena Bonham Carter, the queen of stunning freaky personages, her evil and frightening Bellatrix is so great, that every time she appears on the screen it makes you start and feel creepy all over.

All in all, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a great and scary fairytale for children who have suddenly grown up with their main hero. It is even hard to imagine, what the next part Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be like.