Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Disclaimer: I have never read any of the Harry Potter books, and this review comes without any knowledge of what was included or left out. In other words, I'm judging this as a movie (and a sequel), not as an adaptation.

As promised, I'm going to give you my overall view of Harry Potter 5. In general, I liked the movie. It is distinctly darker than the previous installments, a few more light hearted moments would have been appreciated. This movie does deliver the most streamlined story of all the Harry Potter movies thus far. However, this is both the strongest and weakest point about the movie. It was nice to not have the story jumping around and feeling disjointed (see Harry Potter 1). The lack of non-story elements though, lost the feel of Hogwart's School. I would have liked an additional couple of scenes that showed the school life (one with Harry and pals in a class, and the requisite Quddich...spelling?....match). Again, without having read the books, the streamlined plot was beneficial to the movie itself.

Biggest gripe: There is NO beginning and NO ending. If you haven't seen the previous movies, you would have been a lost. Also, there is really NO ending, things just kind of keep going. At least the previous installments told their story (as indicated by the titles), and furthered the overall plotlines. They could each be viewed as single entries without prior knowledge. This one just furthers the overall plotline without really telling us much new.

Sounds like a lot of griping, but it still was entertaining. The characters perform more magic is this film than all the others. Acting is well done, and character development continues.

Final grades: B+, 4 out of 5 stars. Big screen is preferred for the cinematography and special effects, but don't drop $10 on it.