Editorial: Order of the Phoenix

If there is one major discovery I've made about Harry Potter this year it's that 5 years down the line, I've finally understood why Potter became a break out success when it did. That is, I distinctly recall Potter-mania didn't occur until after Goblet of Fire was published. Sure there were probably some die-hard fans before the fourth book came out but really, the movies didn't start until very (relatively speaking) recently. If there were any comparison I could draw to something I hold dear to myself, I'd say it's very much like Babylon 5. I have a terrible time convincing people to watch B5 because season 1 was dull as hell.

Anyway, I watched the first several films as they came out because it was a hip thing to do. But I am not a huge fan - I never even read the books. I enjoyed the films for what they were: escapism. Somewhere along the way, I sort of let go of it. Which is too bad, because I wish I had absorbed as much as I could before last night.

I went to see Order of the Phoenix under very unusual circumstances. When I go into a sequel film, I'm usually very well versed in the previous installments. I like to think I'm getting more bang for the buck if I know all I can so that I'm not busy concentrating on the unfamiliar. I watched the third film many months ago. I had a reasonable appreciation because by then the story had kicked into high-gear and secrets of the Potter family legacy had begun to reveal themselves. But for whatever reason, I'd never bothered to look up the fourth film. It was during our trip out for Transformers when we thought, it'd be fun to see another movie later on.

So in between, I picked up Goblet of Fire on DVD. It was remarkable how much detail was crammed into that film. Having not read the book, I wondered if I was missing anything important. For instance, I felt like I was being bombarded by too many characters and I was losing track of who I'd met before in previous films.

Sadly, the same thing happened in Order of the Phoenix. While the plot remained decently straight-forward, every time a new character showed up, I wondered if I was supposed to remember a detail I had missed earlier. My cousin who accompanied me assured me none of it was important (she admitted to having watched the previous films multiple times on DVD in the past). For the uninitiated, thankfully, the film assumes nothing. Everyone at the Hogwarts school who acts benign is friendly. Anyone acting adversarial is obviously unfriendly. There are no surprise turns, only surprise appearances (and disappearances). And if anything, the film is simply a feast for the eyes and the producers seemed to go out of their way to outdo the likes of Lord of the Rings (ever imagine a D&D styled battle between wizards?). What might have stuck out like a sore thumb among the likes of Gandalf versus Saruman fits right in with Dumbledore versus Voldemort.

However, despite the flashy thrill-ride we are treated to, there remains the feeling that I'm missing out on something. I've been inspired to look up the books. I will read them (probably in rapid-fire succession (at least the 5 to get myself up to speed) and then I will re-watch the Prisoner of Azkhaban because that's definitely the turning point when Harry realizes there's a lot more to his life at Hogwarts than just being the "Boy who lived." As of last time I'm suddenly appreciating the saga that much more... maybe the kids were on to something.