harry potter and the order of the phoenix audiobook

So the movie boils down to a series of moves and countermoves between a blind administration and a repressed student body. He prefers to view it as a rebellion by the school, its headmaster and that odious boy Harry. It seems there is a political war afoot in which the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), is in severe denial about Voldemort’s return.

She is the amalgamation of all our worst high school teachers, a chronically strict and arrogant instructor who hands down decrees without the slightest concern for their impact. Harry suffers from nightmares, but even worse is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the poisonous-in-pink Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) rushes to his successful defense in court, but upon his return to school, he finds that most students, other than pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), steer clear of him. His use of a bit of magic to save, of all people, his truly despised cousin Dudley results in an almost instant letter of expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for use of magic outside of school. “Phoenix” begins in a glum mood with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, looking definitely older and more mature) moping about during summer holiday in the blighted land of the Muggles. Consequently, looking back, when the series is finally completed, “Phoenix” might go down as the problematic film, full of plot but little fun. Only it takes another 138 minutes for everyone, save Harry, to truly comprehend this fact. Even the release of Rowling’s climactic seventh book in three weeks’ time and its promise to resolve all the loose ends will deter no one from checking out this behind-the-curve movie version.įunnily enough, “Phoenix” ends up with everyone realizing what we, the audience, realized at the close of the last film, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” - that the film’s great but to this point almost ephemeral villain, Lord Voldemort, has returned.

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Harry potter and the order of the phoenix audiobook