Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The fifth film of the series. Harry is attacked during the summer holiday and uses magic to defend himself. Because magic is forbidden outside school he is taken to a hearing. The ministry will not accept what happened the previous year. The newspapers say Harry is lying and nobody at school believes him. The ministry sends an inspector. Umbridge does not let magic be performed in lessons; the students only read. From there the film is a story about organising. The students meet secretly in a room to hold their own lessons and Harry teaches. What the narrative is interested in is not magic but institutional pressure: the real villain is not a dark wizard but an official who dresses in pink and writes rules. Umbridge is the least liked character in the series, and the reason is exactly that she is familiar. The line between Harry and Sirius is the emotional centre and breaks at the end. The last section takes place in an archive under the ministry. There are orbs on the shelves and a prophecy has been sitting there for years. The book was the longest in the series; the film is the shortest. The adaptation removed many subplots entirely, which is its most criticised feature. This film begins the series' new director, who will make the remaining four; from here the visual language is colder and darker. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Imelda Staunton, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes and Evanna Lynch are in the cast. David Yates directed. Who it is for: anyone following the series. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the book; the film drops most of the text and some characters barely appear.