I understand the disparity between it being the longest book and the shortest movie, and that major plotlines are left out entirely...

However the main character of the entire universe is Harry Potter. I feel like OOTP (the film) accurately portrays his progression from an innocent teenager to the one who will have to defeat the Dark Lord, i.e. save the world.

Also the overarching themes of media/government disinformation and obfuscation is so well represented in the film. Also plenty of excellent shots, nothing too dramatic (i.e. 7.1 and 7.2), and nothing to cheesy (i.e. 4). Also excellent acting all around especially from Radcliffe as well as Staunton as Umbridge.

The movie is just so much more invigorating upon rewatch. The death of innocence (across all characters), the wider world realizing the Dark Lord has returned, characters beginning to understand that they may well soon fight for their lives, and the lives of their families. The film is all about transition.

I gotta say it's probably my favorite of the HP movies, though we can all argue about Azkaban being the objective best.

Also has some of the best action imo. Agree it’s underrated

Have to see it, Azkaban was this s*** tho. Glad I'm not the only one lol

All classics

YES. it’s the best HP film.

Rewatched it recently and found it really captivating. Umbridge is one of the best Harry Potter villains and she not even a Death Eater, just f***ed up in her own way. Also like you said the start of Harry truly looking like the hero he is destined to be, and helps build the bridge for why all the students see him as a leader. Also has some of the best one on one character moments. Action is fantastic too. Damn good movie all around

If it stayed loyal to the book, it could've been one of the greatest films ever.

in a way sure but that wouldve been a 4 hour movie lol

Best ending easily

Easily.

Yep

Dont bump this again

I can’t agree. The movie feels like straight sparknotes at times.

Also, apparently the director was forced by WB to cut 45 minutes from the final film.

Love the film personally. The run from Azkaban to Phoenix is the high of the entire series for me

It’s wild to me that the longest book in the series ended up having the shortest movie

op said order not prisoner

it’s top 3 and doesn’t get treated as such so yea

no, it’s not the best. it’s actually my least favorite although I still like it

the movie’s main problem is that it’s too rushed. the person who said it’s a sparknotes version of the book is spot-on

the cuts are jarring and too obvious at points particularly in the scene where Umbridge and her crew captures the gang in her office. where tf did Neville, Luna and Ginny come from??

In the book, they were assisting the trio in the break-in. but the movie left them out of the actual break-in yet still showed them getting captured obviously to ensure they’d be present for the climax. it was very confusing

My main problem with the movie lies in two scenes that I loved in the book but were shells of themselves in the movie-

1) Snape’s memory scene
2) Harry and Dumbledore in his office at the end

The memory scene is like a 1min long and doesn’t give that nuanced view of Teenage Snape and James Potter that you are supposed to have. We don’t even get to see Lily in it which is unfortunate as she was the main reason why the memory left such a huge mark on him. The Tom Riddle memory scenes in 2 and 6 as well as the Karkaroff trial scene in 4 were much better executed, which is a shame as the Snape scene was so pivotal

The Harry/Dumbledore scene was also rushed and emotionless. In the book, Harry was screaming and throwing furniture because he was so angry, Dumbledore was crying because he was so regretful and we got to see the vulnerability in him for the first time. It felt stiff and by the numbers like David Yates was just fulfilling a checklist of scenes that should have been in the movie without thinking about the emotion and deep significance behind each one. It only lasted 1 minute which is a shame as I’d consider it one of the most important chapters in the series

I’m sure the studio meddling also played a part as well but yeah, Phoenix is not the greatest Potter film. not by a long shot. it got the job done and cinematography was on-point as usual though

What’s super crazy is that WB literally produced the LOTR trilogy, but couldn’t possibly imagine audiences wanting to see a 3 hour long HP movie

yeah that is pretty nuts. i'm one of the Tolkien geeks whose come to find the movies boring af the more i understand cinema.

It's a rushed piece of s*** with scenes that don't flow, they just play one after another. One of the worst movies in the series

Well alrighty then

I dont like the cinematography from 5 onwards. Its just so glowy, damp looking and dark. Harry's haircut is the woat in 5. Overall not the biggest fan of book 5 either.

Series peaked with ep 3