Plot: What’s it about?
I’ll be the first to come right out and say it: I’m not that big of a Harry Potter fan. Well, wait a minute I wasn’t that big of a Harry Potter fan. I’d never read any of the books and only seen one movie (“The Prisoner of Azkaban”) but I couldn’t tell you what happened in it if my life depended on it. For some reason 2007 seemed to be the year of Harry Potter. Why, you ask? Well the supposed last book in the Harry Potter series came out which determined the fate of Harry. As of this writing I have no idea what that fate is and I even went and bought a few of the earlier books to get into the spirit of things. Those books are quietly collecting dust in my office and I’ve still not seen the first, second or fourth installment of the Harry Potter movies, but that’ll all change after I’ve seen “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”. I realize there’s a plethora of information in the past movies and even more so in the books and that watching a movie in its fifth installment and trying to comprehend what’s going on isn’t too easy (forgive the run-on sentence). That said, I found this latest installment in the seemingly unstoppable Harry Potter saga very engaging and if anything it’ll serve as a catalyst to get me to watch more of the Harry Potter movies.
It’s the fifth year at Hogwarts and Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is dealing with some issues. He’s been sequestered by the Order of the Phoenix (a secret group that is sword to protect against Lord Voldemort) after using his magic in public. Harry’s on trial and facing expulsion from Hogwarts for this travesty, all of which pales to what’s really going on. It was assumed that the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) was killed in the last installment, but evidently that’s not the case. As he approaches, it’s clear to Harry and friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) that the students will have to form their own army to take on the growing threat of Voldemort. Things don’t get any easier with the installment of a new headmistress (Imelda Staunton) whose strict rules and regulations aren’t making life at Hogwarts easy for anyone. Will Harry and company be able to defeat the threat of Voldemort (again) or perish trying?
I can only ascertain that those who were expecting big things out of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” weren’t let down. It’s one of the few movies I actually went out to see in the theater and the mood seemed high. I think there are plenty of inside jokes in the movie and me, being pretty much a newbie to Harry Potter’s world, didn’t get any of them. One thing I will say is that the series is well-made and does deliver. While it’s not on the grandiose scale of “Lord of the Rings”, these films contain enough action, humor and drama to satisfy a wide range of movie-goers. Naturally we know that there are three more “Harry Potter” movies on the way and each film has been wildly successful both domestically and around the world. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” gained a fan in me and maybe I’m a late comer, but this is one series that I’m looking forward to getting acquainted with.
Video: How does it look?
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” gives you a little bonus if you purchase the HD DVD edition. This is a combo disc, meaning that there’s a standard DVD on the flip side. The 2.40:1 VC-1 HD transfer looks superb and I was expecting nothing less from this high profile movie. In fact, all of the “Harry Potter” movies have now been released on HD and Blu-ray, a good sign for both (or either) format. Colors are generally strong and particularly vibrant during some scenes. A majority of the movie takes place in the shadows and indoors which gives the transfer plenty of opportunities to get faulty. Thankfully this isn’t the case as I noticed no artifacting in the least. My only complaint would be that a few of the wide shots seemed to be a bit soft, but considering the amount of CGI in the movie that could have been the cause. The standard DVD, by comparison, did have several instances of macroblocking in the indoor scenes and while it looked good it’s no comparison for the HD version. Fans of the movie will be impressed with the quality of the HD version and I, for one, wasn’t let down.
Audio: How does it sound?
If this movie had anything but a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack on the disc, I would have cried foul but the good folks at Warner have offered up a very robust Dolby TrueHD track that really brings the movie to life. There are several scenes that have so much depth and ambiance to them that the soundtrack is really the driving force making them work. The surrounds (and rear surrounds) were almost constantly humming along and the LFE come into play at several key moments as well. The battle scene at the end of the film is one of the better examples of surround sound that I’ve heard. The standard DVD contains a fairly robust Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but after hearing this movie in TrueHD everything else falters by comparison.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Fans of the “Harry Potter” movies won’t be let down by the supplemental material and I’m pleased to say that this HD DVD is one of the better examples of how to really embrace the new technologies that a HD DVD offers. While there’s no commentary track, per se we do get enough information that essentially substitutes for one. First up are some deleted scenes that can be played individually or all at once. They range from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. Next up is “Trailing Tonks” as we get a tour of the Harry Potter set from the very eccentric Nat Tena. There are some 90 minutes of “Focus Points” that can also be accessed if you choose to watch the “In Movie Experience”. A little light in the top left corner will let you know when you can access these simply click on the icon and you’re taken the featurette and then returned to the movie when it’s over. These range from set design to some comments by the main actors and really make the movie more interesting and entertaining. There are also some exclusive web features and your HD DVD player must be connected to the internet to take advantage of these. You can edit your own scene (from a selection of three different choices), organize your own screening online and download some Harry Potter ringtones and wallpaper as well.
