

They also benefit from some wonderful special effects that really put you in the middle of the action and blend perfectly well with the cast members. The final battles almost rival what we saw in the previous film and there's no question that they pack a lot of energy and excitement. The film does finally pick up during its final act and this is where thing get really good.

I honestly thought there was very little character development and I thought too many of the scenes just kept dragging on with dialogue that just wasn't all that interesting or thrilling. Again, perhaps I would have picked up on more things had I been familiar with the book but I personally found the majority of the first half to be quite boring without too many interesting things going on. This fifth film is certainly a major step backwards and sadly there are way too many boring moments to make it a complete winner. With that said, I did find the previous installment to be an extremely entertaining movie and certainly the best of the series to date. As I've said in the reviews for the previous films, I haven't read any of the stories so I honestly can't compare the movie to the book.

Dumbledore (Jim McManus) comes to his defense and soon the two of them are warning people of the return of Lord Voldemort. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is brought back to school where he faces a possible expulsion after using magic in the real world.
