Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (SPOILERS)

[wendybeth]

Okay, now anyone who ventures in here is warned.


GC- they changed the curse from a vague, red-light stunner to an Avada Kedavra curse, and had him die before he even fell through, thereby effectively removing any hope that he may have somehow survived. No need to explain the veil now- he's dead. One of several plot changes that I am not especially happy with. Another that bothered me was the scene after Harry brings Dudders home- no mention of Aunt Petunia's curious knowledge of wizard stuff, or her prior contact with Dumbledore. ("Remember my last, Petunia!") Still, I liked the movie and will probably see it again tomorrow.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

they changed the curse from a vague, red-light stunner to an Avada Kedavra curse, and had him die before he even fell through, thereby effectively removing any hope that he may have somehow survived. No need to explain the veil now- he's dead.

Yes, much more definitely dead in the movie.

But then why does Luna, immediately after consoling Harry about Sirius' death, go on to say that things have a way of coming back to you in completely unexpected ways?? She was purportedly talking about her shoes and stuff ... but in film language, that was clear foreshadowing about a potential return of Sirius Black in some form.

Was that bit in the book??


* * * * *

With no offense meant to those who are miffed about the things left out from the 870-page book, I find one of the strengths of this movie is that it doesn't slavishly transpose the novel. Like the other great Potter film (Prisoner of Azkaban), it is a very cinematic adaptation.

Speakling as someone who only vaguely remembers the book, there were no unclear motivations. Hagrid's line about the Ministry restricting the Centaurs' range was quite sufficient to make sense of their hostility toward Umbridge. This or that other thing may have been omitted, even some stuff that would have taken merely seconds of screen time to include .... but I can't fault the filmmakers for a tightly-paced piece of work where everything made complete sense on its own terms.

They managed to put lots of stuff from the book in the background (so familiar readers could spot it and smile, while not bogging down the proceedings with unnecessary detail.)


In fact, I just advised a friend who's planning on reading Order of the Phoenix before seeing Movie 5 NOT TO. It seems all the people I've known who are most familiar with the book are most displeased with the movie. (Instead, I advised him to, if anything, read the prior book as a lead in the current movie ... and, as I am doing, to read OotP after seeing the film.


At 870-pages, I likely won't finish it before I have to start in on Deathly Hollows in less than a week. But re-familiarizing myself with the novel after having seen the film is a way for me to thoroughly enjoy both.

[lashbear]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

But then why does Luna, immediately after consoling Harry about Sirius' death, go on to say that things have a way of coming back to you in completely unexpected ways?? She was purportedly talking about her shoes and stuff ... but in film language, that was clear foreshadowing about a potential return of Sirius Black in some form..

AHA !! Another thing left ouit of the film (and thus unlikely to ever happen in Deathly Hallows) is Sirius' Mirror that he gave Harry, which would have enabled him to speak to Sirius without using the fire (which also went no-where... no umbridge hand patting amongst the ashes).

Therefore, I believe that all hope of contacting sirius is gone, unless there's also a painting of him somewhere about that Kreacher's hidden.

Oh, and I thought that Lunas statement was also a hint for the last book.

[katiesue]

Originally Posted by lashbear

AHA !! Another thing left ouit of the film (and thus unlikely to ever happen in Deathly Hallows) is Sirius' Mirror that he gave Harry, which would have enabled him to speak to Sirius without using the fire (which also went no-where... no umbridge hand patting amongst the ashes).

Therefore, I believe that all hope of contacting sirius is gone, unless there's also a painting of him somewhere about that Kreacher's hidden.

Oh, and I thought that Lunas statement was also a hint for the last book.

Harry tried the mirror at the end of the book. It didn't work and he smashed it. (Just finished reading it yesterday).

[xharryb]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Emma Watson is thankfully beautiful again (and she's legal now, isn't she??).

Not quite yet. Only just turned 17.

I finally saw the new film on Saturday. I deffinitely liked it, and loved some parts of it, but overall didn't love the whole film. I think they would have only needed to add about 20 minutes or so, and things would have been clearer and less rushed for me.

Casting continued to be fabulous, and I agree with most here that the younger cast members are improving with each performance.

I think my favortie moment of the film was Harry and Sirius fighting side by side. My biggest dissapointment was a lack of emotional impact, for me anyway, when Sirius died. He's one of my favorite characters in the franchise, so I should have felt something there, but I didn't. Wether it was poorly set up over the course of the film or rushed in the moment it happened I'm not sure, but something was deffinitely missing for me.