The level of magical eye candy is noticeably lower… [yet] no longer is Harry just The Boy Things Happen To, but The Boy Who Acts. It's a welcome step forward in a wunderkind boy of destiny on the road to true heroism.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:230
Fresh:177
Rotten:53
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: It's not easy to take the longest Harry Potter book and streamline it into the shortest HP movie, but director David Yates does a bang up job of it, creating an Order of the Phoenix that's entertaining and action-packed.
Runtime: 2 hrs 19 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
US Box Office: $291,980,108
Synopsis: In the silver-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, the fifth chapter in the beloved book series, everyone's favorite wizard-in-training (Daniel Radcliffe)... In the silver-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, the fifth chapter in the beloved book series, everyone's favorite wizard-in-training (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself in increasingly perilous situations. Not only is Harry in trouble with the Ministry of Magic for using his abilities outside of school, his trusted mentor, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), has grown distant, and an icy new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), has arrived to bring a frightening level of discipline to Hogwarts. And waiting in the shadows is the demonic Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), an ominous figure whose very existence is questioned by the powerful Ministry, leaving Harry and his friends--most notably Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson)--to form a rebel group, Dumbledore's Army. Helmed by little-known British director David Yates and written by Michael Goldenberg (the first scribe to fill the boots of Steve Kloves), THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX continues the darker tone of the two preceding POTTER installments and deftly follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they face new foes and impending adulthood. While Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson all continue to imbue their characters with vitality and complexity, Staunton steals the show as the strict, merciless Umbridge, though the story, which lacks some of the special-effects-heavy set pieces of past chapters, happily leaves room for other actors to shine, most notably Alan Rickman (as the ever-enigmatic Severus Snape), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). Another fine offering of POTTER movie magic, PHOENIX may not astound quite the way that THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN did, but it easily stands as one of the best films in the series. [More]
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Robert Pattinson
Director: David Yates
Director: David Yates
Screenwriter: Michael Goldenberg
Producer: David Barron, David Heyman
Composer: Nicholas Hooper
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the Harry Potter phenomenon has been watching every aspect of it grow and mature over time. The series is in good form.
But for full fledged fantasy that doesn't skimp on the imagination or the intrigue, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a brave, exciting entertainment.
Yates proves himself an able caretaker of the universe that Rowling and the previous directors have built up.
Phoenix manages to top that potential in an immense way, compacting the longest "Potter" book into the shortest film yet, streamlining the urgency into a tasty pudding fan and non-fan should positively respond to.
The results may be darker and less family-friendly than previous installments but this ambitious take comes as a welcome shot in the arm for a series that could just as easily be running on fumes at this point.
As the number of pages gets higher, the movies are having a tougher time squeezing them all into one cohesive narrative.
Yates doesn't miss a beat -- Harry is still angry and conflicted, and the world around him appears to grow even more unfair.
In a series this good, there's bound to be a mild low point and it seems certain that Order of the Phoenix is it.
Now that Harry has ditched childhood, it seems high time the franchise also dispatches with its immature and draggy literal-mindedness.
not a bad way to spend an afternoon, but even in a summer of uncommonly weak blockbusters, casual fans can probably find more thrilling ways to spend two hours
The whole Hogwarts faculty is so beautifully cast, it reinforces the American impression that in Britain great actors must be piled up on the side of the road in heaps.
For all the action -- and there's plenty of it, even if it's only a portion of what was crammed into Rowling's 870 pages -- the most important stuff is what takes place in Harry's head.
This is a darker, more tormented Harry Potter than we have ever seen onscreen.
More suspense than the other films in the series ... and an improvement upon the book from which it was adapted.
Occupies the middle ground among the Potter movies, not as good as the third and fourth but better than the first and second.
British television director David Yates and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg have made a surprisingly coherent film from Rowling's sprawling, 800 pages-plus novel. But at times it's still a tough slog.
Latest News for Harry Potter and the Order of the...
July 15, 2009:
RT Interview: David Yates on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
When David Yates was hired to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, fans took one look at his TV-heavy resume and panicked that he wouldn't be able to bring the same... More...
July 15, 2009:
RT Interview: Daniel Radcliffe on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
19 year-old Daniel Radcliffe wants the world to know he's a grown-up now. It's tough to walk past a magazine stand on the eve of the release of the sixth Harry Potter film... More...
July 14, 2009:
RT Visits the Set of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
As RT is brought into Leavesden Studios, past a pair of workmen poring over blueprints for a large, conical tower with a tall spire roof, the sense that we're entering a... More...
December 15, 2008:
Exclusive: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - RT's Set Visit Preview
RT visited the set of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince recently to tour the studio and speak to the stars, and we thought we'd share a small teaser of our time at Hogwarts. More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 92% 92% | Fantastic Mr. Fox | 01/1 |
| 83% 83% | The Princess and the Frog | 01/1 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at Rotten Tomatoes
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at IGN
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Movieline gets bravely swept away with the recycled refuse of the 2000s.

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions

We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.





