Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (again, again)

And so I was right - the film was even better on a second viewing. My issue with the speed disappeared, and confirmed my feelings that Phoenix is like Azkaban - but without the plot holes.

Now its been released, I thought I'd mention a few things that I didn't talk about yesterday. First of all, there was a twist, even for a book-and-film fan like me. I'd read on the Internet fairly early on that Marietta Edgecombe had been cut, and that Cho would be the 'snitch' instead. This made sense, and in some ways would have been an easier way to break Harry and Cho up. However, they didn't develop their relationship up enough (something I was a touch disappointed about, but Harry and Sirius's relationship was far more important), and then, Snape tells us that it was because of Veritaserum. I loved that. I also loved the look on Ginny Weasley's face whenever Cho was mentioned when she was around. That's one of the great things about this film - that if something has been cut, it has been subtly hinted at, as well as those little 'fan' moments, like Ginny or the goat (I laughed so much at that).

The acting was brilliant of course - Evanna is amazing, and you can't help but grin stupidly when she's on screen. She's absolutely gorgeous. Not to mention Imelda Staunton is incredible as Umbridge. In some ways, Umbridge is the worst of the villians in the series, with her horrific punishments, and that the students cannot escape her. She's not outwardly evil like Voldemort, which in some ways makes her all the more terrible. Helena Bonham Carter is also fantastic - she is completely deranged! The original cast members are much improved, and Dan's crying is again an improvement on Azkaban. The only issue I have with that whole scene is that with the removal of sound and all it reminds me a little bit too much of Frodo and Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring, but that's okay.

Also, I must admit that I did find it a little funny that, again, lines were repeated from the previous film, and they had a different scriptwriter this time. In particular a line of Moody's at the start, but sadly I can't remember what it is! I also like how when Harry is explaining Patronuses (which should have been done in Azkaban) he basically quotes what Lupin told him. Oh, and they cut that weird line from the trailer! Though I'd still like to know where it's from. I guess if I went and watched the trailer again I'd probably figure it out.

I also like how Yates was able to truly show what being in school was like (in Defence Against the Dark Art Class), something Newell tried to do in Goblet and didn't quite work, yet Yates achieved it in one scene.

I should also mention the visual effects (being the multimedia person that I am). I'm still disappointed that they didn't make the centaurs like those in Narnia, but as they didn't really do a lot I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. With Grawp, they were able to put humanity into the character in a way I didn't think possible, not to mention Emma did a fantastic job acting against him. The thestrals, while looking different to how I pictured them, were still great. I would have liked to have seen flying on them from one of the characters who couldn't see them though. Tonk's hair change came off better than I expected, and I like how apparition appears. I'd love to know what effect Rising Sun worked on - perhaps the writing on the hand? I hope they update their website with that information.

So, overall a fantastic film (though am I ever going to say a Harry Potter film is bad?) that I'm looking forward to seeing again - in IMAX. I should mention too that one of my friends reckons the Dumbledore/Voldemort fight is one of the best ever - and he's a Matrix fan :P