A review by natalie8369
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

slow-paced

I love caps lock Harry and love that he showed more emotion in this book than all the books before it combined. But he was also soooo braindead in this book! It felt like his stupidity was an antagonistic force. Every adult in his life (and also Hermione) said

learning occlumency

should be his number one priority and he just ignored them all. The revelation of the

two way mirror gifted to him by Sirius

seemed unnecessary, as it only served to make his obviously dumb mistake seem even dumber. 

I have to admit: the battle at the climax was in some ways much better in the movie. I was honestly really let down by reading it. Scenes that weren't impactful or dramatic

(I'm talking about you, brain room, time turner room, and death eater with the baby head)

felt both drawn out and unnecessary, and the tension suffered as a result. Going straight from the

hall of prophecies to the veil room

was a better choice. And

Siruis dying fighting by Harry's side

was another great change from the book to the movie, it made it much more painful. But

Harry's possession by Voldemort after his fight with Dumbledore

was the biggest let down of all. That scene in the movie always makes me cry, but in the book it's not even clear that love is the reason why Voldemort couldn't possess him until Dumbledore explains it later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Murder