So, yes, I went to see Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix yesterday. And yes, I did eventually come to suffer from what can accurately be described as the Migraine of Doom. The one, however, probably did not lead to the other, although it's a good thing epilepsy isn't common in my family, because Lord parts of this movie were flashy enough to trigger it.
Like previous Potter films, a lot of stuff from the books gets left on the cutting room floor. This is even more true with Phoenix, since it's the longest of the series to date. Pretty much any major plot where Harry is only tangentially involved is dropped, and a few important plot points get shifted away to different characters in order to keep the movie's narrative tight.
The interesting thing, to me at least, is what the changes imply for the final Potter novel, due out next week. One of the game changing ideas from the Phoenix novel is the inclusion of a prophecy that seems to apply to Harry but could also be valid for another supporting character in the series. The movie retains the existence of the prophecy but pretty much entirely cuts out the concept that it might apply to anyone else, which suggests to me that the potential game changer is, in fact, something of a red herring.
Also, author JK Rowling has been cited as having told the director of OOTP not to cut out a certain character because of his importance to the plot of book seven. The consensus among viewers is that certain character was the Black family House Elf, Kreacher. The entire House Elf concept has generally been ignored since the second film, and while Kreacher had a major part in the death of Sirius Black in the Phoenix novel, his part in the film is merely long enough to establish his existence and his grudge against the Order of the Phoenix. Curious, that.
The film - as a film - is good, and superior to The Goblet of Fire in my opinion. The director is on board to helm the next movie in the series, HP & The Half-Blood Prince, which will be something of a challenge in that a good chunk of the book is done in flashbacks, with the standard school year stuff taking something of a back seat. There is a hefty chunk of action at the end however, as always.
The last book comes out early Saturday, which is fortuitous: it'll give me something to read on the plane if I end up having to fly out to South Carolina instead of drive.
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