The world's favorite young wizard is back in fine form, and considerably taller, as he starts his fifth year at Hogwarts -- and faces the wizarding world's greatest threat and mounting fears. ``Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' the fifth in the series, takes on a more grim and dramatic tone as much of the action freewheels inside Harry's troubled mind.After spending a lonely summer on Privet Drive, Harry (a rather clean-cut Daniel Radcliffe) stands in a disciplinary hearing before the Ministry of Magic for illegally wielding his wand to fend off Dementor attacks before Mugwarts. He avoids expulsion, but is reprimanded along with Dumbledore for claiming that Lord Voldemort is back.
Fudge, the Minister of Magic, is convinced that Dumbledore is conspiring to steal his position, and sends Dolores Jane Umbridge to Hogwarts to teach Dark Arts. Imelda Staunton plays the perfect authoritarian of order and regulation: wearing feigned smiles and prim and proper pink suits, she takes Hogwart's by the collar to shake out all signs of creative magic.
Meanwhile, Harry is branded a liar and ostracized at school. The troubled boy distances himself from even Ron and Hermione. But when their beloved headmaster is forced to flee, the three musketeers gather a secretive student alliance dubbed Dumbledore's Army to battle Voldemort.
Though Harry's clandestine magic lessons fill in for fragmented classroom scenes, the movie lacks the magical touches of Mike Newell's ``Goblet of Fire,'' the last and most successful of the series. Director David Yates does, however, a fine job of inserting flashbacks to the fourth film without disrupting the flow, providing just enough to inform those who haven't seen ``Goblet of Fire'' and refresh the memories of those who have.
``Harry Potter 5'' heavily features the boy's bond with godfather Sirius Black, which unfortunately outweighs the role of other characters, including charming newcomer Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch). Also prominent is Harry's nightmarish visions of Voldemort, with whom he feels a deepening connection.
Other growing pains mark the film, and a blossoming romance with the pretty Cho Chang is sure to excite fans. Harry's climactic face-off with Voldemort's clan is impressive as it takes place in a huge Ministry department storing endless shelves of globes holding prophecies, including that of our beloved young wizard sought after by Voldemort.
As the series nears its finale, good and evil are more clearly defined, with Lucius Malfoy explicitly displaying his malignant intentions. Helena Bonham Carter also inventively embodies the zany Bellatrix Lestrange. The fifth installment is marked by delightful details: ongoing pranks by Weasley twins; an ingenious visitor's entrance to the magical world via a red London telephone booth; and flying paper planes -- instead of owls -- that carry messages.
The Harry Potter craze is sure to peak this summer as J.K.Rowling's seventh and last book is also due. The next film ``Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince'' awaits release next year and will also be directed by Yates.
