Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (viewed Sept. 15, 2007)

I saw this film with "J" at iMax. About a year ago, the Mini-ster and I went to see Superman Returns at iMax and found the whole 3-D experience to be distracting more than anything else. Who knows, maybe it was because the film as a whole was thoroughly disappointing but I walked out of Superman Returns feeling as if I had wasted two hours of my life. Not so with Phoenix. I think part of it may have been that there was just one 20-minute sequence in which you had to wear the 3-D glasses. With Superman Returns, there were three short sequences.

Anyways, as for the film itself, the Harry Potter films seem to be getting better with each volume. I found the first one nearly unwatchable. It was almost as if Disney had made them: cute, precocious children doing cute and precocious things. The book is much darker and far more nuanced than what the film allowed. Of course, the fact all of this is lost shouldn't come as a surprise when one considers that it was Chris Columbus directing (he also directed Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire). Starting with the third film, the producers smartly got rid of Columbus and put in real directors. Each chapter is getting increasingly darker and more complex. I haven't read the book but "J" had and she tells me that there are a lot of major plot points that get overlooked or given only a cursory look. I figure that's about par for the course when it comes to any adaptation. Movies can never tell a story quite as good as a novel. With the exception of The Godfather, you will almost never hear anyone say the movie was better than the book. This isn't to say the movie isn't good (because this one certainly is) only that it will always fall short of the book.

On a final note, I think the producers of the series must be slapping themselves on the back for having had the great fortune of choosing children actors who would grow up one day to become halfway decent actors. Both Radcliffe and Watson have proven themselves to be quite capable. Grint, on the other hand, will probably see few movie roles beyond this one (although I heard he wasn't half bad in Driving Lessons).