Film Preview: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Trailers (Due to age, may no longer be available)

Posters (Due to age, may no longer be available)

Poster Rating: B-; B+

Review: This isn’t the best poster I’ve seen for the film. Although Lord Voldemort plays a huge role in the direction of the film, his inclusion on the poster merely wielding an energizing wand ignores some of the more clever and intriguing possibilities of occlumency.; The second poster is far better than the first. It features faces we’re significantly more familiar with and it does have an overall ominous ("The Rebellion Begins") feeling. It’s nice to know that the film that will finally get the secondary characters more involved in the film’s storyline and thus are at least included on the poster.

Trailer Rating: B-; A

Review: Why Warners has to hard sell a movie with a built in audience is anyone’s guess. It doesn’t matter what the preview shows, audiences will watch, yet they eschew a teaser for a full blow trailer that gives away too many visuals but too little substance.

What a difference a second trailer makes. Whereas the first trailer seemed the hard sell featuring more than I was ready to see, the second trailer goes beyond that, but somehow does it better. Being a Potterhead, I can safely say that I don’t think I’ve been more excited about a Harry Potter film than after watching this trailer. The second trailer doesn’t give very much away and while I know I’m shooting myself in the foot by not blasting this for showing too much, I can’t help but be struck by how amazing everything looks. If this trailer is any indication, then I think the Oscar for Art Direction should finally go to a Harry Potter flick. The scenes in this preview are fantastic despite revealing far too much about the film. Any trailer that can make me overlook my own distaste for overzealous trailer-making has to be great.

Oscar Prospects:

In the past, I’ve said Harry Potter wouldn’t get any nominations. Then it’s picked up a number of different ones. It’s hard to guess which will figure this year if any, but I can see Art Direction and Costume design along with Visual Effects as distinct possibilities, though I wonder if the Academy will be too tired of the franchise after five features.

Release Date:

July 11, 2007

Synopsis:

From the longest book, they cut the most filler, but the result seems a little more hollow and less entertaining than would it have been if more detail had been included.