Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Returning for his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Left with no choice, Harry takes matters into his own hands, training a small group of motivated students to defend themselves against the Dark Arts.
Paul reviewed
November 12, 2025•
The franchise’s moody middle child, where Hogwarts trades whimsy for authoritarian misery and the hero’s journey gets mugged by bureaucracy James Burnham warned us of. Daniel Radcliffe finally delivers a believable character, tortured Harry, giving the film the edge it needs, while Imelda Staunton’s Umbridge and Helena Bonham Carter’s Bellatrix inject pure villainous charisma. If you’re after magical escapism, this isn’t it; Order of the Phoenix is a stress dream in gothic pastels and bureaucratic sadism.