Order of the Phoenix spoilers, ahoy!


Still gathering my thoughts, I think. I enjoyed this movie, not with the same instant enthusiasm I had for Goblet of Fire, but even so...


It was surprisingly low-key with a noticeable downplay of the Capslocky parts. Didn't even make a meal of the Sirius thing.
The Ministry interior was beautifully realised and Grimmauld Place was convincingly grim and claustrophobic but there wasn't enough time spent on things, I found. The much anticipated 'Snape's Worst Memory' sequence flew by in about 30 seconds. [pout] And there was So. Much. Missing. - prefects? What? S.P.E.W? What? - or mucked about. Poor Neville was turned into a house elf again! In some respects though the cuts helped move things along - the book suffers from oedema, which led to perplexing plot bulges that looked significant but turned out not to be. The movie skipped a lot of that nonsense but at the same time it meant there was no real build-up of suspense. I came out of there thinking this could have worked better as a series.
Performances were generally good, though unfortunately we hardly got a chance to appreciate some of them. I was impressed with Evanna Lynch (Luna) and very pleased that Jason Issacs - Lucius Malfoy - had a chance to do more than just posture evilly as a panto villain. Imelda Staunton's Delores Umbridge wasn't as revolting as she could have been there were still some amusing interactions with the teachers. And, I have to admit, I was relieved not to be subjected to too much Bellatrix.

I'm going to see this again. The 'wait - what?' parts won't throw me quite as much a second time. :)