The emphasis is on the cerebral

Harry Potter is more fortunate than other franchise titles in that it has found a formula that works. There is a definite storyline that now spans seven novels and does not rely on stand-alone adventures. It is being brought to the screen by a line-up of competent directors, Chris Columbus, Alfonse Cuaron, Mike Newell and now David Yates. They have taken the books and given each their own vision.

Providing the series with a very strong backbone is a veritable who’s who of the British stage and cinema in the supporting roles. The late Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Finnes, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman and others. Added to the list for The Order of the Phoenix are Helena Bonham Carter and Imelda Staunton who is so deliciously wicked as Dolores Umbridge.

Then it is also great that the kids cast in the lead roles signed up for the long haul. They are growing up on the screen just like their characters and maturing as actors with every film. A Potter film might have also worked with some changes in the cast but it feels so much better to see Daniel Radcliffe as Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron and all the others, every time a new Potter movie comes along.

The latest is finally here and it has a Harry who is old and it shows. It has been five years since he found out he had magic powers and he now looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. And Harry does. The Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the series created by J.K. Rowling, has the boy wizard contending with forces, more malevolent than before.

Voldermort has returned, now only missing his nose and getting more powerful. The dark lord reads Harry’s thoughts, enters his dreams and might soon unhinge his mind. But nobody believes the warnings about he-who-must-not-be-named from Harry and Professor Dumbledore.  Reaction from the Ministry of Magic is a media campaign to discredit the two. Dumbledore is insane. Harry is a lying plotter. Also to keep them in line the Ministry puts Hogwarts under the control of Dolores Umbridge, chief watchdog and inquisitor.

This situation though is a minor irritant compared to Voldermort. It is against him that Harry and Dumbledore separately gear for battle. The headmaster has the Order of the Phoenix, a group of wizards and witches like Sirius Black, Lupine, Moody and others committed to putting an end to Voldermort. Harry has Dumbledore’s Army, a group of students whom he trains secretly in defense against the dark arts. They eventually rid the world of the evil wizard. But only for a while. Voldermort will be back with his minions in the next book. 

Because Potter is now 16 years old new director Yates keeps some of the usual teen diversions like his attraction for his schoolmate Cho Chang, his first kiss or how he will fare in his OWL exams. Then there are the bullies tasked with making life difficult for Harry, like the pink nightmare Umbridge, the depraved father and son team of Lucius and Draco Malfoy and the now more intriguing than ever Severus Snape. Is he foe or ally?

Though entertaining those conflicts are only small bits of the picture. This is Harry Potter.  He is not going to come of age with his first romance or a high grade from Snape. Only putting an end to Voldermort will do that. Wisely Yates left the kiddie fantasy and teen angst of the first films behind. Instead he came up with a thrilling drama about Harry as a rebel and the leader of dissent at Hogwarts where freedom is being stifled by the interfering Ministry.

Now aren’t those kids who are hooked on Harry’s story glad that they are also growing up like their hero? If not, how else will they be able to understand what The Phoenix is all about? Things have gotten very complicated and the book, plus the movie now serve as their introduction to corruption, deceit and power-tripping in an authoritarian government.

Yates depicts the unrest inside Hogwarts with a sure hand. The tension is palpable and the escalating oppression on campus should strike a familiar chord with those who remember the period of martial law.  Think of restrictions of every kind, secret meetings, tortures, betrayals and the birth of heroes.

Given this setting, Phoenix comes across as the most cerebral of the series. Not much to gasp about here.  Although wonderfully done, Yates limits spectacle to the minimum. Some wand battles, some strange creatures and a few aerial rides over London on Thestrals and the usual broomsticks. Think, he seems to say, while he strips Potter of his childhood and expertly weaves a spell of impending doom on the way to the climax. 

Almost a thousand pages long, The Phoenix is the longest and most complicated of the Potter novels. It must have been the most difficult to translate into film. But lo and behold, Harry’s latest screen adventure moves effortlessly from scene to scene, smoothly executes the introduction of new elements and characters and effectively seduces moviegoers into seeing in their minds what is not there.

It is episodic but only because Yates assumes prior knowledge in his audience. I suppose this is unavoidable. Who has not read the books or seen the movies? Given the readers’ familiarity with the setting and the characters, they have actually begun filming Phoenix in their heads while reading the novel two years ago.

Still for greater enjoyment of what is actually, the best and the shortest film of the series, I recommend reading the books or at the very least watching the first four films. You will enjoy all of them anyway.