Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix

“What's life without a little risk?”
-Sirius Black

And risk is something that Harry would have to do to survive in Order Of The Phoenix.

2007 was a good year for the Harry Potter franchise. The Order of the Phoenix was released on the big screen, Deathly Hallows' anticipated book release in July was unlike anything I've ever seen, and Dumbledore came out of the closet. Now, to remind us how fast time flies from summer to winter, Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix is being released on DVD! It seemed like last week I was watching this in the theater.

Things are not the same at Hogwarts anymore. With the threat of Voldemort’s return, Harry and his friends really have to learn to defend themselves. Unfortunately, they have no one to show them self defense since there have been certain “laws” made in school that prohibits everything other than breathing. You've probably seen the tag on the promotional posters that says "The Rebellion Begins". And a necessary rebellion it is for Harry and the rest of his crew. With the new legalistic structure at Hogwarts (courtesy of the character Dolores Umbridge, a.k.a. Super Bitch), they have to risk in order to survive- risk the threat of being kicked out of school for practicing self-defense on their own, and also risk their lives in standing up and facing the evil threat of the Dark Lord. As with every Harry Potter episode, there are strong themes in the story. There's the theme of how fear can distort your mind, how power in the wrong hands can be used for corruption, and how taking matters in your own hands when no one else is around to help you is sometimes necessary. This is a pivotal episode in the HP series because since Goblet Of Fire, it gets more serious and darker with the Dark Lord’s return and the death of certain characters becoming more frequent. Like the other films, the acting was great- from the students, to the professors, to Dumbledore, and the Death Eaters. It took a few viewings of episodes 3 and 4 to get used to Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. But by Order Of The Phoenix, he really seems like Dumbledore incarnate. After viewing this, I can’t help but get excited thinking about the next release to come on the screen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.