DVD: Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

Our favorite students of Hogwarts comes back to their Fifth year. The One-Who-Must-Be-Named has returned and Harry Potter as seen it first hand, but no one around Harry believes him because of the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Profit, the wizarding newspaper, has been denouncing Harry and Doubledore's claims of the return of Voldemort. While at school it has been clear that the Ministry has forced their way into the ruling of Hogwarts by placing one of their own, Delores Umbridge (who is played by Imelda Staunton), and are not teaching the student any magic. So Harry has decided to teach the other students himself (they name the group Dombledore's Army). Which everything leads up to a huge battle between Voldemort and his Deatheaters versus Harry and his friends.

The Harry Potter and The Order off the Phoenix is my second favorite of the book series, with the Prisoner of Azkaban being first. With the movie version, I would have to say I enjoyed it more than some of the previous in the series, it being the shortest in the series it did leave some plot elements of the book out. One thing in example was I remembered in the book was that Professor McGonagall and Umbridge had a couple of arguments, while in the movie they touched briefly on that. Another was Firenze, I really liked to have seen him back in this one but they didn't add him. Another scene was at Sirus home, Grimmauld Place, where we encounter boggarts and we see the Locket which will be important later in the series. One last part I was really looking forward to was the scene in St. Mungo's where we see Gilderoy Lockhart who is in Chamber Of Secrets, and we meet Neville's Parents. But above all that I thought the movie touched down on most of the main plot points from the book. Which is always a great thing.

As the acting in most of all the Harry Potter it is superb. The cast of this series is grade A. Some great actors come aboard to help make these movies great. The two newest additions to the cast was Imelda Staunton who plays Umbridge the Ministry's arm at Hogwarts, for me I thought that was straight on casting she played the character Umbridge great. Another addition was Evanna Lynch who plays Luna Lovegood, and that too was great I really liked her during the movie. The returning cast does a great job too, like aways.

One last thing I really liked was the sets of the movie, the Hogwarts grounds have always been amazing to look at and its a thrill to see, but for me the one new sets that looked amazing was the Ministry of Magic. When we first drop down into the Ministry and see all the people crowding in, it is a glorious sight, showing the sheer scope of the Ministry. Even towards the end when the group was in the Department of Mysteries, the whole place looked amazing I really like the use of the black and dark blue colors.

The Overall thought of Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix was that I enjoyed the movie, while yes they sure did cut a lot out of one of the longest book of the series (I still wished the movie was longer), but I thought it was still entertaining and that what its all about. But if I to pick between the movie or the book, I would go with the book any day of the week. Overall I highly recommend Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix.

DVD

Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix comes in two discs and is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen, with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and English, French, Spanish subtitles. The Special Features include:

• Additional Scenes.
• The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter - Explore all of the Movies in the Series for Clues of Harry's True Destiny.
• Trailing Tonks: Natalia Tena (aka Nymphadora Tonks) Leads a Very Personal Set Tour.
• Harry Potter: The Magic of Editing - Director David Yates and Editor Mark Day Shows What a Difference a Good Edit Makes.
• DVD-ROM enhanced features.

The one thing I was disappointed with this DVD is that it does not a commentary track, I love all commentary's on most DVD and I have always been wanting some sort of commentary on any of the Harry Potter DVDs but never had them, there's still hope. Other than that I thought the DVD of the Order of the Phoenix is really well packed. The one extra that really caught my attention and enjoyed was the Trailing Tonks where Natalia Tena (who plays Tonks in the movie) take us through a tour of the sets of Harry Potter. Another extra that had me thing was the The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter the extra talks about the story and what clues that connect Harry to his past. I found this really entertaining and thought provoking. The whole thing was really entertaining. The other parts of the DVD are also well done. Overall this is a great viewing for anyone. Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix 2-Disc DVD is a Buy.