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Phoenix Descending

Posted on Jul 18, 2007Feb 1, 2022 by Ken Gagne

The Half-Blood Prince was the only Harry Potter book that left me looking forward to the sequel. But before I take that step forward this coming weekend, I took a step back and watched the film adaptation of the series' most boring entry, The Order of the Phoenix.

The movie's opening is fashioned after one of the novels' most lamentable traits: a complete lack of introduction or context. Anyone who is just a casual fan of the series — that is, those who read the books only once each — will have trouble recognizing Dudley Dursley or Nymphadora Tonks in the opening scenes. Indeed, many characters' roles have been reduced, Potter's love interest is of little note, and the titular Order is rarely seen or referenced.

Most disappointing than these cuts, necessary to adapt this behemoth of a book to film, is that the parts cut were the parts I liked. Ginny Weasley speaks not a single word in the entire film, whereas in the novel, she provided a helpful connection between Potter's current dilemma and the one she faced in The Chamber of Secrets. Potter's hesitancy to pursue lessons with Snape is absent, yet that motivation is vital to understand the depth of Voldemort's manipulation. And though we know the Dark Lord is seeking a weapon, but the movie never solidifies what the weapon is, or its value and implications (including to Neville Longbottom and Professor Trelawney).

The Potter films often serve as a useful refresher to anyone who hasn't memorized the source material, and in this case, I was hoping to be satisfied by the movie in a way I wasn't by the book. Though the film was well-acted and had some nifty special effects, its lack of detail — or rather, its choice of detail — left me hoping the silver screen has not overwritten my memories of the original text.

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Related

Tags: adaptations, Chamber of Secrets, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, JK Rowling, Natalia Tena, Order of the Phoenix, Ron Weasley, Voldemort

5 thoughts on “Phoenix Descending”

  1. Matt says:
    Jul 18, 2007 at 9:33 pm

    Sacrilege! How could you not love that movie??? If you compare it to the book, yes, it is not as good and there are definite things left unexplained (like why the second to oldest Weasley is against his own brother!) but had we not read the books we would be equally confused stand alone so we return to the movie. I think I am seeing spots. It is late.

    0
  2. hiphopguy23 says:
    Jul 19, 2007 at 10:38 am

    Wasn't this the worst book of the series? Hiphopguy23 only vaguely remembers reading it. What was it about?

    0
  3. Ken Gagne says:
    Jul 20, 2007 at 12:40 pm

    Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series, and some consider it the best because it's when Harry finally begins acting like a hormone-raging, belligerent teenager. As a former high school teacher, I didn't see the appeal of those characteristics.

    There is a plot description of the book here and the movie here. It's basically about Harry's first year of school after the return of Lord Voldemort, which the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe. This leads to a power struggle at Hogwarts that leaves Harry and his friends in a precarious position.

    0
  4. Ken Gagne says:
    Jul 25, 2007 at 12:39 pm

    "New Harry Potter Film Turns Children On To Magic Of Not Reading", reports The Onion.

    0
  5. Ken Gagne says:
    Dec 20, 2007 at 11:38 am

    This film came out on DVD on December 11th and has been doing quite well.

    0

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