Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 👎👎
Let's begin with the good.
Solid effects, solid atmosphere, good music, some decent acting by supporting cast (always love Gary Oldman).
Ok that's it for the good. Now for the question of target audience.
Who exactly is this movie for? Is it for small children? Surely not. There are plenty of scenes that explore the beginnings of teenage romance, lots of scary imagery (dimentors, valdemort, torture, any scene with that red headed sidekick - he's scary looking). Is it for adults? I certainly know a good number of adults who get off on this series. But alas, no this movie is certainly not for adults. One of the principle themes in the movie is rebellion against a substitute teacher, and part of the justifications (in the movie) for that rebellion is that she won't let boys and girls kiss each other in school and forces students to raise their hands before they speak in class. That's not the only criticism levied upon the substitute teacher, and it's not even the main criticism, but it is indicative of a movie that speaks to pubescent and pre-pubescent viewers.
So with that in mind, I'm forced to conclude that the movie is supposed to speak to individuals who are Harry's age. So how old is Harry in this film? Judging from the cues, I'd say he's a sophomore in high school. I'd put him right at around 15 years old. The movie reminds you a few times that he can't really drive on his own. He wants to, he's looking for transportation independence, but he relies on transportation from others several times in the movie, so he's not quite of driver's license age yet. It's possible that he's supposed to be 16 or 17 with a license but without a car. But I want to give the movie the benefit of the doubt, so we'll go with 15.
...but that brings us to problem number one. Because if there's any age group that seems unlikely to be interested in this movie, I'd imagine it is 15-year-olds. When I think back to what I was interested in as a 15 year old, it was not movies that touched on the taboo of flirting and kissing. I was watching movies like Braveheart (which I saw in the theater at exactly 15 years old and loved), Bram Stoker's Dracula, Terminators 1 and 2, Conan the Barbarian, Predator... in short, I was watching movies that were written for adults. In some cases those movies were intended to be for young adults, or for adults who felt like taking some time off from using their brains, but they were adult films non-the-less complete with nudity, blood, violence, and real adult themes. Harry Potter had none of those. And so I'm forced to conclude that while their target audience might have been 15 year olds, the movie contains themes that will appeal more to 10-12 year olds.
Order of the Phoenix is full of the sort of juvenile details that seem to be the hallmark of the Potter series. We see paper airplanes flying around multiple times, we're to hate a teacher who makes students raise their hands or tuck their shirts in, we're to sympathize with harry as he's a complete jerk to everyone who cares about him (who knows why they care about him), and we're supposed to feel bad for him when he's justifiably put in detention by a mean teacher.
I could overlook these sorts of things if the movie had something in it for adults. Just like I can overlook the boat/butt jokes in finding nemo when there are meaningful themes and character development. But not only is there nothing in this movie for adults (still... despite the fact that the target audience continues to get closer and closer to adulthood with each new book/movie release), I don't even like this movie for 15 year-olds, or 10-12 year olds for that matter.
Harry is a bad hero. His behavior is not one of a smart and mature 15 year-old. It's not something that children should exemplify. At no point does Harry take meaningful action on his own. He is constantly lead through the movie's struggles by the supporting cast around him. He's pathetic. He lacks initiative, determination, charisma, tact, diplomacy, anything redeeming whatsoever. He's exactly the worst possible type of hero. The hero who had everything handed to him as a birthright but still manages to constantly try to give up. His teachers come to his aid throughout the movie from start to finish. And his friends push him into the only accomplishment in the movie. Even when he wants to do something on his own (like go after Black in the end of the movie) his friends have to figure out how to do it. And I give him no credit for the "initiative" of rushing to the aid of his closest friend, that's pretty much a no-brainer for a movie hero.
In addition to Harry being useless, I have real problems with the structure of the environment in these movies. The series of movies/books focuses on the study, exploration, and mastery of magic. But throughout the series, the magic has taken on absolutely no structure. Not only does this not teach the children watching the movie to look for patterns, structures, and themes in nature as they explore and attempt to master magical subjects like physics, biology and chemistry in school, but it also makes for an incredibly linear and disengaging story.
Instead of understanding what Harry is learning, seeing his progress, and anticipating the sorts of things he will eventually be able to do. We are constantly kept in the dark. Instead of seeing a larger framework unpon which spells and abilities sit, we're left with a nebulous cloud of spells and abilities which the author invents to suit her needs at a particular moment. If a very specific spell is needed at a given moment, it exists. End of story.
To solidify the point I just made, I'd like to draw a parallel with another coming-of-age story in which a boy struggles to master magical powers - Star Wars. In Star Wars, Luke attempts to master the Force, a magical field of energy that gives him and his enemies to ability to perform spell-like feats. But in Star Wars, the "force" sits on a framework that we can understand - physics. The force is, literally, force. So Luke starts his mastery of the force with simple but effective tricks - like pulling a light saber from the snow. Eventually he begins to lift heavier objects, multiple objects, knock people over, jump higher, and all with greater speed and ease. You can anticipate the sorts of things that Luke can do, you can see why his enemy has an advantage as he has a greater mastery of those powers - and you can understand how those powers an extension of the things Luke is learning. It makes sense, but it's not as convenient for story telling when you can just make up a particular bit of magic for any given situation.
What I'm looking for in Harry Potter are disciplines of magic. Like:
conjuration - for giving life to inanimate objects
evocation - for energy manipulation like lightning bolts, telekineses, or fire
psionics - for mind reading or control
etc.
At no point would you have characters casting spells that are tailor made for getting rid of a specific enemy (like dimentors). At no point would you have random magical effects that make the subjects of paintings move around, at no point would magic ropes appear from nowhere and wrap themselves around an enemy, and at no point would powerful evil characters simply forget how to use the magic they have at their disposal when it is convenient for the story.
I'd like to see Harry learning how to command a spark while Dumbledoor knows how to command a giant ball of flame. I'd like to see Harry learning how to give life to a pen while Dumbledoor can summon an army of rocks or trees. I'd like to see Harry learning how to control his thoughts to prevent Valdermort from reading his mind but not because of some unexplained specialness that links Harry and Valdermort, but simply because mind control is a technique that Valdermort has and will use with Harry regardless. In short, I want the progression through magical mastery to be understandable, observable, and, if you're paying close attention, predictable.
Without a compelling hero and a structured reality this movie is nothing more than paper airplanes, special clubs, and hidden forts. It has no cohesion. I don't rate it as lowly as I did Episodes I-III of Star Wars, but it's not good either.
As a fan of Sherlock Holmes, can't say I'm too excited about this confirmation. 
👍
