Summer 2007: Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, HP old bean returns to begin his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to find that most of the magic throng won't face up to Harry's encounter with the dreaded Lord Voldemort. In fear that Hogwarts' esteemed Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort's return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to monitor Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge's Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizard community. Therefore at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, our bespectacled hero takes matters into his own hands. Clandestine gatherings with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army" are arranged and Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the latest entry in this globally embraced franchise. However, most fans will demand more than this. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets actually proved to be better than the first film in the series; and the third instalment - 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - nudged the series into much darker territory. While Azkaban is probably still the best film in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire consistently built on Azkaban's legacy and was a worthy entry.

Order of the Phoenix is extremely dark, but it doesn't let audiences - imaginations soar as the previous two films did. Maybe it is because an aura of familiarity hangs over the proceedings (Harry has yet another climactic magical battle with Voldemort, but we are spared the regular now-dreaded Quidditch match). Perhaps the fault lies with new director David Yates' workman-like approach. Action scenes are often staged awkwardly while the set designs and special effects often have a humdrum and flat feeling about them. Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak's colour palettes occasionally seem uninspired and dull. Production designer Stuart Craig has contributed quite a few imaginative sets to this film as he did to all the Potter movies he has worked on (he was production designer on all of them). However at times director Yates seems unclear how to utilise these sets properly, and one if left to wonder what a more visionary director such as Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) could have accomplished with the same material at hand.

Yates' talents seem more suited to his TV small-scale dramas (the excellent State Of Play etc.) than big-budgeted special effects blockbusters (there would be no point in seeking out Order of the Phoenix in IMAX theatres, to be honest). The acting - especially the children's - has improved immensely from previous instalments, even Rupert Grint's constant mugging as Potter's best friend Ron Weasley is kept to a thankful minimum. The newcomers also acquit themselves admirably. Particular mention should be made of Imelda Staunton, who joins the cast as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the ruthless Dolores Umbridge. Dolores Umbridge is a great new villainess, a camp smug nightmare, all fake smiles and giggles while adorned in kitschy pink.

Pink is the new black as they say. Staunton creates such a memorable - if over-the-top character - that she practically steals the movie right out from underneath everybody else she is in a scene with. Evanna Lynch who makes her acting debut in the role of Luna Lovegood also gives her character the right amount of required loonyness and offbeat wisdom to be mentioned here.

Unfortunately, with a few minor exceptions, most of the actors are criminally underutilised as they bravely do the best they can with the small amount of screen time they do have at their disposal (blink and you'll miss Emma Thomson, for instance). Part of the problem is the film's short running time. Ironically, while Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest Potter book yet to be adapted to the big screen, it has the shortest running time of all the films. While the book it is based on weighs in at a whopping 870 pages, it runs for a mere 138 minutes. (In comparison, Philosopher's Stone was 300 pages/152 minutes; Chamber of Secrets 352 pages/161 minutes; Prisoner of Azkaban 448 pages/141 minutes and Goblet of Fire 752 pages/157 minutes.)

The relatively crisp running time may be welcome in a summer in which audiences had to slog it through enormously long blockbusters such as Pirates 3 and Spider-man 3; however, at times one cannot help but want the film to spend more time on the plot and its characters. Readers familiar with the next book in the series will know for instance that the loyalties and allegiances of a minor character will play a key role, but this particular character is almost given short shrift in Order of the Phoenix.