Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix DVD Review By Prairie Miller

Possibly more Dirty Harry than the usual beloved megabucks kid bestseller bespectacled wonder wizard, as a dark side kicks in. This fifth installment, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, on Two-Disc Special Edition, finds Dan Radcliffe’s Potter an egghead rebel teen vigilante of sorts, with unruly impulses towards admittedly ineffectual adult authority.

And an apparently more hormone-driven Harry gets to enjoy a magical mistletoe makeout session too, courtesy of a receptive Cho Chang (Katie Leung). Who does her own abrupt disappearing act, likely at the behest of director David Yates, before the potentially steamy proceedings threaten to shapeshift into an R rating.

Overly complicated and distracting with far too many characters that young viewers may find too exhausting to care, Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix nevertheless doesn’t disappoint. There’s still plenty of breathtaking screen sorcery, and spectacular wand wars with Harry’s soul on the line.

Plus, a kooky new addition pops into the mystical collection of assorted oddballs, Delores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). She grabs more than a little attention of her own as the devious schoolmarm with a rosy hued wardrobe and freaky feline fetish, as black magic is whimsically reimagined as truly shocking pink.

Warner Home Video

Rated PG-13

DVD Features: Bonus Digital Copy of the film included with the DVD; Additional Scenes; The Hidden Secrets Of Harry Potter: Explore all the movies in the series for clues to The Mystery Of Harry’s True Destiny; Trailing Tonks: Natalia Tena (aka Nymphadora Tonks), leads a very personal film set tour; Harry Potter: The Magic of Editing – Director David Yates and editor Mark Day show what a difference a good edit makes; DVD-Rom Enhanced features.

Prairie Miller is a New York multimedia journalist online, in print and radio, who reviews movies and conducts in-depth interviews. She can also be heard on WBAI/Pacifica National Radio Network’s Arts Express.