7/11/2007
Last night I lined up with what must have been a couple of thousand others to see the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix. And you know what? It was a lot of fun.
The movie, of course, is darker than the others, but then, so is the book. Also, much of the richness of the characters expressed so well by Rowling in her books had to be left out as well. But the elements that went into the movie worked well, and I enjoyed the movie as much as any I’ve enjoyed this year.
Let me tell you something you should know, Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood in the movie was a delight! She nearly steals the whole show.
As I said, I stood there in line with a couple thousand die-hard fans to see the movie. Actually, I arrived an hour early and the line was already huge, so, being on my own, I kind of snuck myself into the line fairly close to the front. That way, I was able to get a decent seat. And only a decent seat, despite the fact that every one of the theatres (there were 11 total) was set up to show the film!
But I digress…
The audience was incredibly excited to see the movie, cheering when the Warner Bros logo came up on the screen with the original Harry Potter score playing in the background. And every time Luna appeared in the movie, you could just feel the audience’s fascination with her.
I wonder if part of the fascination with Luna comes from the fact that Luna reflects some of the oddness — some might call it “geek-ness” in those of us who are fans of the books. She is just so different, that even Harry doesn’t know what to make of her.
But throughout both “Order Of The Phoenix” and “Half-Blood Prince,” the character of Luna just adds a whole new element to the storyline. She is a nut, but then again, so are many of us who are so into Harry Potter, so we have that in common.
Most of us, though, try to blend in, whereas Luna is just too true to herself to ever care what others think. And Evanna did a phenomenal job of bringing all that to life in the movie.
Another phenomenal performance came from Imelda Staunton, who played the part of Delores Umbridge. She too was perfect for the role. Delores Umbridge is, in every way, a fascinating character brought beautifully to life by Staunton.
Not that you like Umbridge. She’s a mean, sadistic, child-hating, power-mongering semi-sociopath who also just happens to love kittens and the color pink. If she were your neighbor, you would think she was just the most wonderful person, until she gets herself elected President of your community association and bans pets, pools, laughing children, and Christmas decorations.
It is those kinds of performances, along with excellent performances from the normal cast, that makes this movie worth seeing. I think this movie outshines “Goblet of Fire,” which seemed to me to be just too fast-paced, like a rock skipping frantically over the waters of a lake, missing most of the water below, then sinking suddenly to the bottom.
This movie does a bit of skipping, but it also dips in a bit, and I think the combination produces the right balance. I’m not a movie critic (not a professional critic anyway) but I would give this movie three stars out of four. But go see for yourself and let me know what you think.
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