(Long Island, N. Y.) Harry Potter. The famous boy wizard and star of author J.K. Rowling’s recently-concluded series of books has become the stuff of pop-culture legend. Books, movies, toys, video-games, magazines, you name it- the revenue from the merchandising juggernaut that is Harry Potter has basically turned his creator into the Bill Gates of Britain, in terms of net worth. Not bad for a woman that wrote her first novel in a coffee shop because her apartment at the time reportedly had no heat, huh?
I’ll admit that I’ve not read any of the Harry Potter books, but so far I’ve seen the movie adaptations of the first five and found them all to be charming and enjoyable. However, the one problem they’ve all had in common is that they cater directly to those who have read the books, making them less accessible to casual moviegoers. It’s to be expected, of course, considering the huge fan base of the novels,
but I always end up encountering scenes where I’d be at a loss as to what’s going on, had I not made it a practice of bringing a companion well-versed in Potter lore each time.
Oh, you’ve never heard of Harry Potter? Well, lumber out of your cave and I’ll be happy to tell you all about him. Harry (played in the films by the talented Daniel Radcliffe) is a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the only known person to ever survive an attempt on his life by the evil Lord Voldemort, who’s sort of the Darth Vader of the series. The previous films have each chronicled one year in Hogwarts, starting with Harry as a freshman with his friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). Thought vanquished long ago, the deadly wizard Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is working behind the scenes in order to regain his body and continue his plans of conquering the world. Having finally re-appeared in the flesh in the last film, Voldemort has now started committing all sorts of tomfoolery and, of course, it’s up to Harry and his friends to stop him.
This brings us up to the newest entry in the series- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In his latest adventure, we find that Harry and Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and Obi-Wan Kenobi to Voldemort’s Darth, have told the illustrious Ministry of Magic about the Dark Lord’s harrowing return. You’d think such a weighty claim would send the Ministry into full alert mode, but it’s instead met with complete disbelief, mostly because in movies no one ever believes stupid little kids or batty old men. If they did, the menace would be nipped in the bud and then we’d have no movie, now would we? Ignorance of the painfully obvious is one of the most important plot devices in all of Hollywood, my friends. Everything revolves around it.
The Ministry’s odd behavior doesn’t stop with simply ignoring the magical equivalent of Hitler and the grave threat he poses to the planet, oh, no- they go one step further and
attempt to clamp down on Hogwarts, erroneously viewing Harry and Dumbledore’s report as a blatant lie meant to sow dissent among the Ministry. To this end, the Ministry appoints Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) as Hogwart’s new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, and from there she spreads her vile influence until she’s usurped control of the entire school from Dumbledore and his professors. To minimize the perceived danger to the Ministry, Umbridge adjusts Hogwarts’ curriculum, eliminating the practice of actual magic in favor of textbook-based lessons. Rules governing behavior are tightened to the point where all personal freedoms are nearly eliminated and dissent is actually punished physically. In an attempt to rebel against Umbridge’s horrific authority, Harry forms an underground group of fellow students he instructs in smoking and drinking hard liquor- no, no, he
actually just teaches them the mystical arts instead, in preparation for a possible attack by that Voldemort guy. They know it’s coming, even if the brain-dead grown-ups refuse to accept it.
Meanwhile, Harry is also in contact with Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), his Godfather and only living relative (Harry’s parents had sadly been killed by Voldemort when he was a baby). Sirius is the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organization of good wizards committed to combat Voldemort, should he ever return. But can even Sirius and the Order protect Harry from not only the Dark Lord himself, but the ruthless police state that Hogwarts has become?
In my not-so-humble opinion, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix just may be the best entry in a series that has consistently churned out quality installments. While it retains its roots as a children’s movie, the franchise is taking a decidedly darker tone as its stars get older and more mature. Harry and crew are in their mid-teens now, and watching the characters grow older and become more complex has been an interesting experience.
Watching their actors grow older has been interesting as well. Some of them, like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, has remained nearly identical-looking since their inception into the series. Rupert Grint started looking rather odd in the last film, but somehow looks like himself once again. But the two actors that play his twin brothers appear to be suffering from Luke Perry syndrome and look like they’re in their 40’s
now. Not good when you’re playing teenagers.
And while we all know I love to complain about movies that are unnecessarily long, Order of the Phoenix never felt that way, despite clocking in at nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes. It helps that the story is engaging and the characters quite likable or diabolical, depending on what side of the good guy/bad guy fence they’re standing on, of course.
One thing that made no sense to me, however, was when Dolores Umbridge basically turned Hogwarts into an interment camp of sorts, stifling the student’s freedom and refusing to teach them any magic. I mean, their parents are PAYING to send them Hogwarts- it’s not a charitable institution. I would imagine the tuition for such a place is quite pricey. It would be like sending your kids to Harvard Law School to become attorneys and having the professors insist on teaching them Advanced Umbrella Opening or Ice Cube Theory instead. You’d pull them out,
right? Maybe, I guess. I sure might.
So, overall, there appears to be just no way of stopping Harry Potter. Everyone loves him. Please go see his movie and make J. K. Rowling even richer, if that’s even possible. Sure, you’ll be buying into a pop culture phenomenon, but in this case that’s okay- for once it’s not a vapid, soulless one like most of the others that come and go on a daily basis. Harry Potter is a series that’s chock full of imagination and excitement, even for jaded grown-ups like me. I keep meaning to actually try reading one of the Potter books at some point, but if the film translations continue to retain their high level of quality, I probably won’t ever bother (yes, I’m lazy). Highly recommended.
