This review will cover not just the theatrical release of the latest Harry Potter film but also the experience of seeing it in the IMAX cinema in Waterloo not to mention seeing the last 20 minutes or so in lovely 3D. That’s right – not sad old 2D but wave your hands in front of your face 3D.
The Film~ Phoenix is the fifth Harry Potter film taken from the scarily popular series of books written by JK Rowling. Often considered the ‘difficult’ book because it doesn’t really sit well in isolation it is more of a transitional episode as Harry moves outside the protective circle of school and friends and is forced to face danger in person. It is also transitional as Harry moves through puberty into young adulthood with all the angst that goes with that. There is no focussing core event to carry the episode in isolation; rather we are on a personal rites of passage journey for Harry as he finds himself in the centre of a storm of controversy over his claim that Voldemort had returned at the end of the previous episode. As the only witness to this the wizarding world is split into those who believe him and those that don’t. His supporters are led by Dumbledore, his headmaster, but facing him is the might of the Ministry of Magic using all their powers and influence over the press to denounce him as an attention seeking liar. As the Ministry relentlessly interferes in the running of the magical world to suppress the truth Harry is forced further into isolation.
With new director David Yates at the helm the film moves into distinctly darker territory. If the series of books can be split into two parts the previous book, The Goblet of Fire, represents the end of the first half and the last chance for Harry to fight on his home ground of Hogwarts School. Now Harry is faced with the away leg as the battle moves out into the world, he must now play under Voldemort’s rules and those rules aren’t fair.
From the opening scene Harry is faced with hostile and powerful enemies. This wizarding world is very different from the one we discovered in the opening episodes. There we saw an idyllic world full of friendly happy faces where everybody was happy to see Harry. Now he has a legion of enemies who want him dead and those who should be on his side are distancing themselves, this world has become a very harsh and lonely place.
The film moves along at a brisk pace and inevitably there is much detail from the book excluded. Audiences will be used to this by now though, as the books grew ever bigger the last couple of films have had to become more ruthless with surplus characters and plotlines. This is a tricky line for the director to walk; on the one hand he is faced with probably the most knowledgeable audience in film history as 75% of the audience have probably already read the book and therefore know everything before he starts, including how it ends. He can therefore leave quite large gaps in the narrative comfortable that most of the audience will make the leaps with him and that the others will catch up. Of course the trade off is that fans will miss out on some favourite scenes or characters. Most people were a bit disappointed at the shortness of the Quidditch World Cup at the start of the last film for example. Phoenix has fewer set pieces to cull but it does have a lot of background information about the Potter family, his Godfather Sirius Black’s family and these are disappointingly skated over. New characters appear on screen with little or no introduction and just as quickly drift away.
This film also has less exposition than previously seen. Where in the early episodes Hermione would be used to explain the difference between a werewolf and an animagus or what the Unforgivable Curses are, now we as an audience are pretty well versed in the magical world and there are far fewer things that need to be explained. These moments would have given the audience a chance to take stock and catch their breath but this film keeps moving forward, building up the pressure until the climatic scenes that complete this film and sets things up for the forthcoming episodes.
Is it a good film? Without question it is. I don’t think it would play as well if this was your first exposure to the world of Harry Potter but to those who have read the books or seen the films this one maintains the very high standards that have so far been set. I’d even go as far as to say that this is the best of the lot, it translates surprisingly well from page to screen and in terms of pacing is in some ways better.
The Cast & Characters~ Phoenix introduces several new characters as well as bringing back some familiar faces. It’s good to see the Dursley’s back on screen and there is a welcome return for Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. One of the most anticipated new arrivals is Luna Lovegood, a kooky little hippy chick who is as much an outsider at school as Harry has become. Viewers won’t be disappointed by her as she gets plenty of screen time and her character is true to the book.
In the early episodes the young leads were superbly supported (you could almost say carried) by an awesome line up of British acting talent. Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane and Richard Griffiths from the beginning with virtually every key role since taken by an actor of similar stature. But now that the leads have reached the threshold of adulthood they are less reliant on the adults around them and act with increasing independence. This works on two levels, it is true to the characterisation in the books but is also a testament to the blossoming talent of the three actors who are now well capable of leading a film from the front. The casting team deserve credit for their prescience as the three leads have all grown so effectively with the films. Rupert Grint has shown good comic ability since the second film, Emma Watson has been good throughout but I feel that Daniel Radcliffe struggled in the early films with the weight of the role. With this film he has taken a significant step forward technically and assisted by the script manages to make Harry far less annoying than he is in the book while still capturing the simmering resentment he feels inside. The upshot of this is that all those actors listed above have very little to do in this episode which is a shame. Rickman comes out best but is still restricted to a mere couple of lines from which to draw out his usual lip-curling camp evilness. It’s good to see the others on screen but you are left wanting a little bit more from each.
The Ginger Question~ This may be a bit facile but it did rather bug me during the first half hour of the film. This is the hair of the Weasley men. Starting with Mr Weasley senior, I couldn’t help thinking that he had more hair than in previous films and that it was even more ginger than before. Then you’ve got Ron and the twins. By the last film they had all grown their hair to a suitably louche shoulder length that carried a certain sixth form style about it but in the Phoenix they’re back to the pudding bowl horrors of the first couple of films. And it’s not just the Weasleys, Harry has left behind the windswept look of the last film and had what looks suspiciously like a short back and sides with sensible side parting – I mean what’s going on? On another point of continuity, at one point Sirius speaks to Harry through the fireplace as he did in the last film. However, the two scenes look completely different as if the CGI has been redesigned. A minor point but again it bugged me at the time.
The Pointless Question~ Is it worth watching? As I let slip earlier this film is really good, possibly the best one so far. With Harry Potter you are always aware that you are an adult reading or watching work aimed at children but while the early episodes were very ‘Famous Five have a Jolly Adventure’ with each successive episode the tone of the stories and the characters themselves have matured almost to the point of adulthood and this film isn’t as far from a JB (Bond or Bourne – you choose) film as you might imagine.
While I can’t see it drawing in a new audience this film will more than satisfy the fans and leave you craving the next one by the end and you can’t say better than that.
The IMAX experience~ With a screen approximately 10 times bigger than normal cinemas watching a mainstream film at the BFi IMAX Cinema in London’s Waterloo is something that should be on every film-fan’s list of things to do. It really is a different experience to regular cinema as your whole field of vision is taken up with the film, more in fact so that you are regularly turning your head from side to side to keep up with the action. An incredibly immersive experience it is worth the extra couple of quid the £12 tickets cost against a local UCI. The biggest shame is that they only screen a couple of these releases each year.
For this feature the added hook was that the climactic final scene would be in 3D but to be honest this was a mixed bag. When the time came to don the 3D glasses a green flashing sign came on the screen, while not exactly intrusive it did come at the point of the film when you are inching towards the edge of your seats and broke the mood somewhat. The first few minutes are inevitably distracting as everyone gives a collective ‘Oooooo’ at the extra detail as Harry flies within inches of your face. Within a few minutes you’re back in the moment and a flight through London and chase through a maze of narrow corridors is genuinely enhanced by the 3D. However, as the film builds to its climax a fight scene containing dozens of combatants ensues and this is too much for your senses to cope with. With the 3D images on the huge IMAX screen you just can’t take all the information in and you find you’re missing things as they happen on opposite sides of the screen or you’re a fraction of a second behind the action as you move your head to keep up. In some ways this is quite effective and the effort of keeping up with the action will leave you with racing pulses and flowing adrenalin by its end but also the nagging doubt that you missed out on much of the detail. But what the hey, that’s what DVD’s are for and I wouldn’t have missed the chance to see this film at the IMAX for anything.
This will be showing at the IMAX cinema throughout August with three screenings a day. Bookings can be made through www.bfi.org.uk.
On the DVD~ Obviously I don’t know what will be on the DVD but I expect it to be of a very good standard. I would expect the content to have moved further from the children’s games of the first releases and have more background features and interviews. Speaking of DVD’s, I can’t help feeling that the producers have missed a trick by not releasing Extended Edition versions in the style of the Lord of the Rings films. I certainly would like to see more in the films beyond the theatrical versions and it would allow the main stories to be fleshed out and greater exposure given to the supporting cast. Just a thought and if the footage is in the can then I expect something similar will be released one day.
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Soundtrack
Good
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Good
Value for Money
Good
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Film only
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