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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 37 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 381 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Adventure | Drama | Family/Kids | Fantasy
Written by:
J.K. Rowling (novel)
Michael Goldenberg
Directed by: David Yates
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 11, 2007
DVD: December 11, 2007
Running Time: 138 minutes, Color
Origin: UK / USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton, Gary Oldman, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort is a lie, putting Harry's integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Dolores Umbridge. But Umbridge's "Ministry-approved" course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark forces threatening them, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry is convinced to take matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army", Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
GAMES: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (PS3)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
New York Magazine David Edelstein
For all its portentousness, this is the best Harry Potter picture yet. In some ways, it improves on J.K. Rowling’s novel, which is punishingly protracted and builds to a climactic wand-off better seen than read.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Colin Bertram
It's action-packed, darker, more epic and thankfully schmaltz-free. And it's the best "Harry Potter" film yet.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Scott Foundas
In narrative terms, not that much happens, but as for Harry's emotional journey--well, that's nearly epic.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
Not just a ripping yarn but a powerful, poignant coming-of-age story.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The special effects continue to be masterful, but villains are given a new twist, and Order of the Phoenix is all the more fun because of it.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
For those who have gotten their Harry Potter fix entirely through the cinematic incarnation, the script is lucid and fast-moving.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Yet, as good as it is in so many ways, there's no getting around the fact that this briefest Harry and first directed by an unknown filmmaker (David Yates) is the least substantial of the bunch.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
The whole film is about innocence and experience, and if it isn't a Blakean song, it is a sturdy and vibrant piece of prose.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The flourishes don't answer the question most on Potterites' minds -- who lives, who dies? -- but they briefly stupefy.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg and director David Yates have transformed J.K. Rowling's garrulous storytelling into something leaner, moodier and more compelling, that ticks with metronomic purpose as the story flits between psychological darkness and cartoonish slapstick.
Read Full Review >Empire Helen O'Hara
It won't win new fans, but as Potter movies go, this is the most filmic of the lot, suspenseful and action-packed.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Timely metaphors abound in The Order of the Phoenix, but the story (of which there is much) stands on its own magical merits, dark and darker still though they may be.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Is there an admired British thespian who hasn't toiled in Potter's field?
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Harry comes through loud and clear as a conflicted, edgy, avid young man. He's turned into EveryTeen.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Destined to be remembered as the one that handed the screen Harry his first kiss. Like much of the film, the smooch comes and goes briskly, without a lot of fuss.
Read Full Review >Premiere Glenn Kenny
Pheonix is smartly-constructed enough that non-acolytes interested in checking out Harry's world won't need too long to catch up.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Darker, leaner, less expansive , and meaner, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is all business, and it casts a spell utterly unlike the first four films.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Given a choice between this and the navel-gazing of the novel, I'll take the short ride on a fast machine.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The most amazing magic yet for the wildly popular franchise: It is genuinely engrossing.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
On balance, the filmmakers do a terrific job with one of the weaker stories. It's welcome news that Yates is coming back for one of the stronger ones; he's set to direct "Half-Blood Prince."
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
This is a gangly, confusing sprawl, and yet there are enough patches of beauty scattered throughout that it's impossible to reject it wholesale.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Considerably grimmer and grittier than the previous pictures.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
A sleek, swift and exciting adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s longest novel to date.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Save for the thrilling opening sequence, there's not much to remember about the film beyond Staunton (Vera Drake), who masks her bottomless malevolence behind a pasted-on patrician smile.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This fifth film should please fans who rate the films based on their fidelity to the canonical texts. But for the uninitiated, it's a dry and slightly dreary introduction to the world of Hogwarts and Azkaban.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Whatever happened to the delight and, if you'll excuse the term, the magic in the "Harry Potter" series? As the characters grow up, the stories grow, too, leaving the innocence behind and confusing us with plots so labyrinthine that it takes a Ph.D from Hogwarts to figure them out.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Standouts are Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Harry's sly father-surrogate, and Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman
Director David Yates, who is new to the Potter franchise, moves the story along briskly, at the expense of texture and nuance.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
"Phoenix" might go down as the problematic film, full of plot but little fun.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Taken as a motion picture, the new "Harry" comes up short. But taken as a visual aid to the experience of reading a book, the new "Harry" does its job.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
The storytelling seems occasionally disjointed, but more important, for all the special-effects wizardry, that touch of film magic never surfaces.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
There are lots of special effects, but sadly, no real magic.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
Something of a letdown. Previous statements aside, I understand Warner Bros. has to set the table for "Half-Blood Prince" and "Deathly Hallows," but too much of Phoenix is filler. And with only two movies left, we better get to the main course in short order.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
It finally can't transcend the limitations inherent in being no more than a way station in an epic journey, a journey whose cinematic conclusion is several years away.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Less magic also means less fun and discovery, as Harry battles depression and a hostile press; this is the bleakest Potter installment to date, and under David Yates's choppy direction, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, and David Thewlis have little more than walk-ons.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 381 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Pete E gave it a10:
Amazing, from the dementor attacks all the way through to Sirius' death.
Gavin C gave it a7:
This film seems to leave out elements from the book that shocked the reader, which leads to the film being only above average.
Help U gave it a4:
Heeeeey. a movie about the most popular, lamest book ever created. I actually had enough time on my hands and I was so bored I actually read them all. Something I noticed is that without the book you are lost beyond belief, but it is mildly entertaining, when i say that i mean the last action scene where everything goes crazy.
Andrew G. gave it a10:
The best one so far. Yes, it was too short, but other than that, it was wonderful.
Jon L gave it an8:
Probably the first genuinely great film in the series, despite having the episodic problem that plagued the last two films. Goblet had a rather bland visual style and a narrative where little seemed to have actually happened. Yates manages to spike it up with a new visual look and add to the budding sexuality of the characters. Still, it could go further, as like all the films, it seems to hint at greater things to come.
Sam gave it a5:
I love the books and the films seemed to be getting it a bit better, but the main problem I have with this film is that no scene is long enough. By the time yo've had a chance to adjust to the scene (and I'm one of those slightly obsessive fans who know the books basically back to front) and, as the Chicago reviewer points out, some of the more respected actors, especially Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson are basically cameos. Some of the parts seem miscast, although Sir Michael Gambon seems to finally be getting the measure of Dumbledore after his ridiculous aggression in Goblet of Fire, with very strange perfomances from Dudley and Mrs Figg, and Seamus' plot being nicely set up before being completely wasted. Oh, and someone give Emma Watson's eyebrows an Oscar. Their performance on the train in Goblet of Fire (watch it, seriously, it's incredible) went unrewarded, and it's time they received some recognition.
Ben F. gave it a2:
A bad movie. THEY SHOULD FIRE YATES! i can't believe he totally ruined this movie. They took out some of the best parts and made it like a short movie. F**k the makers. The previous ones were one hell of a lot better. They should bring back Newell or Yates. They only got a few scenes right.
