ItвЂ™s one of those instant villain-making turns, which Ralph Fiennes pulled off so well last time around. In ten minutes of screen time, sheвЂ™s revealed to have tortured NevilleвЂ™s parents to insanity, and then she murders Sirius. But the big news at the end of this one is probably the introduction of Bellatrix Lestrange, played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Jason Isaacs makes an unctuous return as Lucius Malfoy, colluding with Fudge for most of the film, while also actively serving his reborn master. In a bold contrast, all of their practice is moot when pitted against a bunch of grown Death Eaters, who have no compunctions about wailing on teenagers. The consequence is that the usual trio of leads are joined on their dangerous climactic mission by three more Hogwarts students (the acceptance of Neville brings RonвЂ™s sister, Ginny, and Cloud Cuckoo Lander, Luna Lovegood, into danger with them too). Matthew LewisвЂ™ hapless Neville Longbottom gets some much needed embellishment, and Katie LeungвЂ™s return as HarryвЂ™s crush, Cho Chang, figures in the filmвЂ™s further baby steps towards teen romance. The subplot with HarryвЂ™s teaching group, dubbed DumbledoreвЂ™s Army in a rebellious affront to the MinistryвЂ™s paranoia, includes much more of the younger cast. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson donвЂ™t get to show off for reasons of not having an awful lot to do in this film. Particularly, Daniel Radcliffe has spoken of his admiration for YatesвЂ™ rapport with actors, telling Entertainment Weekly in 2006, вЂњI donвЂ™t think thereвЂ™s been a moment on set this time where IвЂ™ve walked away after a scene and thought I didnвЂ™t give it my all.вЂќ The arrival of Yates marks a rapid acceleration to the gradually improving talents of the young cast too. It hints at the later complexities of the character, and Rickman brings his A game as always. Snape, in trying to teach Harry to defend his mind from Voldemort, gets some great scenes, and we learn part of the reason for his beef with HarryвЂ™s father. Sirius BlackвЂ™s family history, or at least the parts of it that are important to him as a character, makes it into the film and gives a good opportunity for Gary Oldman and Daniel Radcliffe to develop their chemistry before its tragic ending.ДЄlan Rickman, after appearing for approximately thirty seconds in the previous instalment, had never been given more to do before this point. It even finds time to flesh out certain regular characters. ItвЂ™s really stunning how the film covers all of the source materialвЂ™s salient points and still has a relatively breakneck pace. TheyвЂ™d probably find some perspective if they watched Queen Of The Damned, or Catwoman, or any videogame movie ever made. IвЂ™ve said before, and will say again, some Harry Potter fans donвЂ™t know theyвЂ™re born when it comes to this claim. YatesвЂ™ tenure, which lasts until the end of the series, is often criticised by Harry Potter fans for being rampantly unfaithful. So even where certain sequences or subplots may not literally be in the movie, I think theyвЂ™re there in spirit.вЂќ But anything that we did lose, we tried to find a way to at least tip our hats or find another way of showing it. Of his adaptation process, Goldenberg told Wizard Universe in 2007, вЂњYou hate to lose anything, because itвЂ™s all great. At the same time, however, Goldenberg is very creative with his adaptation, unafraid to generate some new scenes from emotional beats that were delivered incrementally on the page, and rearrange the chronology of the story a little. ItвЂ™s a deceptively simple approach, with a lot more of the filmвЂ™s dialogue being recognisable straight from the book than in KlovesвЂ™ scripts. And yet, the overwhelming impression of watching it is that itвЂ™s quite extraordinarily faithful, if less longwinded than before.ДЄ savvy screenwriter might have, once again, excised the Dursleys and got straight into the political intrigue of the piece, but Goldenberg somehow finds a way to hit every base, as far as the important events of the book go, in the most concise way possible.

Goldenberg and Yates prune away most of the stuff that doesnвЂ™t connect to this journey, making for the second shortest running time of all the films. HarryвЂ™s reaction to this political repression is part of his main emotional journey in The Order Of The Phoenix. Her performance is fantastic, milking the banality of evil for all its worth and making for one of the Potter seriesвЂ™ more skin-crawling villains. вЂњProgress,вЂќ Staunton simpers, вЂњfor the sake of progress, must be prohibited.вЂќ It begins with this brand of compassionate conservatism, before she gets behind closed doors and tells Harry that he knows he deserves to be punished. But itвЂ™s newcomer Imelda Staunton who really leads the charge, as Umbridge.

The order of the phoenix movie cast