Why Do I Like this One the Best?

I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last Thursday, and I've been trying to put my finger on why I liked it so much. I expected that the darkness of the 5th book in the series would make it more interesting to me, and it did. But there's more to it. This film is stronger than the sum of its parts. I think the earlier films were equal to the sum of its parts. And what parts are those?

1. Better Acting. Overall, the focus is much more on the kids. The supporting players, like Neville and Cho, have a bit more to do, and Harry, Hermione and Ron are around a lot, the adults are largely absent. Maggie Smith gets one scene. Michael Gambon gets two. The kids hold up their part of the film.

2. Imelda Staunton. That being said, Imelda Staunton rules Phoenix, as the Inquisitor in Residence and Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, though anti-teacher might be better since everything she does is counter to the students learning to defend themselves against the dark arts. She is simply amazing. It is a compelling performance that is more fully developed than we're accustomed to in the series.

3. Good CGI. The special effects are great but not overwhelming.

4. A focused story. Okay, I'm a bit of two minds here. I think David Yates has done a terrific job of telling the core story of Order of the Phoenix. It moves and it engages. But there is so much of the book that's left out, it feels more like connective tissue between movies 4 and 6, rather than a film that stands on its own. But what a film.

Yates approach makes it easy to sum up the story: With the Ministry of Magic in denial about the return of Voldemort, Harry and friends, as well as the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix, must prepare to do battle with the Death Eaters. Meanwhile, Dolores Umbridge is sent to Hogwarts to implement the Ministry's head-in-the-sand approach to the return of You Know Who.

Phoenix is engaging almost from the start. Technically, it's more sophisticated than earlier films, give this one a more natural (albeit supernatural) feel. It is more violent. It is all about violence, in fact. The wizarding world is at war, and Harry and his mates are the ones doing most of the fighting for the good side.

This is definitely not for everyone, and I can understand why the reviews are either raves or kind. But for me, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix most lives up to the promise of the Potter collection on film.