In case the title of this blog didn't make it obvious, there are all kinds of spoilers about the movie discussed in detail in this entry--so if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to be spoiled, don't read! :-)

Every one of the three times I've read the novel, I've thought to myself, "This is my favorite book in the series."  Of course, I also think the same thing when I read Goblet of Fire or Half-Blood Prince.  Or really, any of the Harry Potter novels. :-)  But I think that before I get into my issues with the movie, I need to explain why I love the book so dearly.  There are three big reasons.

1) I love the chaos Harry has to go through in the book.  Everything falls apart: he doesn't understand how to relate to anyone, all the pieces of his life he has kept seperate bleed together, most people don't believe him, and he isn't entirely sure he should believe in himself.  He's been to Hogwarts for four years, and he expects things to be a certain way.  He expects Dumbledore to be his mentor.  He expects Ron to be his sidekick.  He expects Hagrid to be there like a rock.  He expects to be popular, even if he doesn't particularly like it, and he expects to win at Quidditch.  And all of that is taken away from him, which is something painfully realistic. 

2) Professor Umbridge and her quest to restore order and tradition to the school are just great counterpoint to the theme of chaos.  She's actually scarier than Voldemort in the novel.  She's pure evil, and it's freaky because she has such a sweet facade.  Although it's not such an original concept to have evil underneath a veneer of goodness, having her in the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor is... well, how can I say this without being undiplomatic?  Fairly realistic? Extremely appropriate?  I better stop this section now.  ;-) 

3) I think that the novel does an amazing job of showing how STUPID it is for adults to protect kids by not giving them the full facts.  Dumbledore at the end comes off a little modest by blaming himself for the entire fiasco, but it really is his fault.  A lot of people complain about Harry being so moody and volatile in the novel, but I think it makes complete sense.  No one will tell him anything, but they get mad every time he does something "dangerous."  Half the time, he doesn't know it's dangerous because no one has explained to him what was going on.  And there is NO WAY Harry would have been so mentally challenged that he would have gone to the Department of Mysteries if Dumbledore would have just explained about the prophecy to begin with.  Even if he did go, he would have at least realized what Voldemort was after, and that could have made a HUGE difference.  The whole thing really is Dumbledore's fault.  I love Dumbledore, but he and all the other adults except for Sirius (because Sirius actually wants to tell Harry what is going on) were completely insane for being so overprotective in that way.

Now for the movie.  I've always wondered how they were going to pull off cutting 870 pages down to a 2 hour 30 min. screenplay.  I really didn't see how they were going to do it.  I was amazed they were able to salvage anything resembling the original story.  Obviously, I knew they would have to cut some things, so I tried to be understanding.  But here's the thing.  The cuts they made in prior films like Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire were almost always superfluous storylines that, in book form, added a lot to the story, but wouldn't have worked in the film version.  I never miss seeing the SPEW stuff with Hermione, for example.  In Order of the Phoenix, there weren't as many of those extra storylines to choose from, and I think some really important things were cut that would have made it so much better.  If I had to boil my issue with the move down to two words, it would be these: It's monochromatic.  (The bright parts aren't bright enough, and the dark parts aren't dark enough.) 

Examples: Harry is supposed to be all bad-moody.  When he arrives at 12 Grimauld Place, he's supposed to be shouting at Ron and Hermione.  The entire page is basically in caps in the novel.  In the movie, he's just being accusatory.  Hence, it's not that funny when Fred and George Apparate and say, "We thought we heard your dulcet tones" and then make comments about him shouting.  Another great example--they cut the part where Bellatrix Lestrange uses the Cruciatus Curse on Neville.  I can sort of see why.  It would have been freaking disturbing--but it is what I think is one of the strongest parts of the book.  They left out simple little touches of brightness--like the entrance to the Ministry of Magic and the phone booth that gives little nametags--when they head in for the final duel, getting those nametags that said "Harry Potter--Rescue Mission" would have been just the comic relief the audience needed to appreciate the DARK stuff to follow.  I was also extremely disappointed with the Fred/George leaving Hogwarts prank.  That was A BILLION times better in the book.  I mean, it took what, five minutes?  In the book those fireworks were flying around for days.  And the swamp they built lasted AGES.  The whole point is that Umbridge is such a control freak, she gets overrun by all the problems she insists on controlling.  She essentially collapses long before the centaur herd drags her off in the novel.  But definitely not in the movie. 

There's not nearly enough chaos, either.  It doesn't show the bleeding of the worlds--it would have taken what, two or three minutes for Petunia to get the Howler from Dumbledore that says "REMEMBER MY LAST!" or for her to show that she knew what dementors were?  There's definitely not enough comic chaos, either.  Every time things get depressing in the novel, someone does something to throw a wrench in the works--usually Fred and George or Peeves.  If ever a movie was in need of some practical jokes, this one was it.  Well, actually, I think that King Arthur could probably also have done with some good practical jokes, but that's beside the point.  Constant emotion might just as well be no emotion at all--it gets impossible to figure out where the important parts are.  Case in point--Hermione and Harry take Umbridge out into the woods, and in the book, that part is almost funny.  Hermione is confidently and LOUDLY traipsing out there and trying to draw attention to herself rather than walking around with a worried look on her face.  And hey, now that I'm on the subject of that part of the movie, Ginny curses Malfoy with a bat-bogey hex in the novel.  She doesn't feed him skiving snackboxes.  That was a truly SPECIAL alteration to the novel that essentially steals the power of Ginny, Neville, and Luna.  They don't get to fight their way free like they do in the book.

My pet peeve was that they cut the part about Ron and Hermione being prefects.  THAT IS SO IMPORTANT.  Giving Ron and Hermione their own stories independent of Harry is what emphasized Harry's isolation even more.  Mainly, Ron and Hermione spend the entire movie exchanging dramatic looks with each other and/or Harry, so their ongoing, seemingly happy lives are not in contrast to Harry's miserable one.  It would have taken like two minutes for Ron and Hermione to get prefect badges and Harry to be pissed; then it would have actually made SENSE for Ron to be all, "Does anyone else have a problem with Harry?"  I sort of missed the whole storyline with Ron essentially winning the Quidditch Cup, but I can see why they cut it.  It would have taken forever.  But they should have left the prefect one.  The prefect issue also shows more evidence of the rift between Harry and Dumbledore. 

One thing I think I like about the movie is having Harry more overtly struggle with his worry that he might be becoming like Voldemort.  It's a theme that gets buried under all the bigger themes like chaos/order, governmental oppression, family/relationships, and prejudice in the novel.  But I think that's the essence of Harry's problem in the novel--the reason he is so snappy.  Of course, he isn't the most self-reflective person in the novel, so he doesn't sit there and think about things like that.  But it's good stuff in the movie.  Also, I think I liked Voldemort trying to convert Harry to the dark side.  I'm not sure it's exactly in keeping with his character; he needs to destroy Harry so that Harry won't destroy him... but it does make Voldemort the personification of Harry's fears.  That's pretty cool.

Also, I think Lucius Malfoy was FREAKING AWESOME in the movie.  Way better than in the book.  And those Death Eater masks are completely terrifying in the best way possible.  The Death Eater stuff, for the most part, was just great.  Also, the Dudley stuff at the beginning is good.  His little outfit was just special.  I was sad they left out my favorite line in the book where Dudley is saying something about Harry not being brave in the dark, and Harry says, "It is night.  That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this." 

Wow.  Long entry.  Sad conclusion--I was disappointed by this movie.  It's the first Harry Potter one I've been to that left me feeling this way.  I should have expected it, though, given that I like the novel so much and they were going to have to cut so much of it. :-(  Now I just have to look forward to next Friday at midnight when I can finally get and start reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!!!