Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: July 11, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
For all its portentousness, this is the best Harry Potter picture yet. In some ways, it improves on J.K. Rowling’s novel, which is punishingly protracted and builds to a climactic wand-off better seen than read. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsColin Bertram
It's action-packed, darker, more epic and thankfully schmaltz-free. And it's the best "Harry Potter" film yet. Read full review
100
Village VoiceScott Foundas
In narrative terms, not that much happens, but as for Harry's emotional journey--well, that's nearly epic. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Corliss
Not just a ripping yarn but a powerful, poignant coming-of-age story. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It will hook you good and keep you riveted. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
For those who have gotten their Harry Potter fix entirely through the cinematic incarnation, the script is lucid and fast-moving. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The special effects continue to be masterful, but villains are given a new twist, and Order of the Phoenix is all the more fun because of it. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Yet, as good as it is in so many ways, there's no getting around the fact that this briefest Harry and first directed by an unknown filmmaker (David Yates) is the least substantial of the bunch. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The whole film is about innocence and experience, and if it isn't a Blakean song, it is a sturdy and vibrant piece of prose. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The flourishes don't answer the question most on Potterites' minds -- who lives, who dies? -- but they briefly stupefy. Read full review
80
EmpireHelen O'Hara
It won't win new fans, but as Potter movies go, this is the most filmic of the lot, suspenseful and action-packed. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg and director David Yates have transformed J.K. Rowling's garrulous storytelling into something leaner, moodier and more compelling, that ticks with metronomic purpose as the story flits between psychological darkness and cartoonish slapstick. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Timely metaphors abound in The Order of the Phoenix, but the story (of which there is much) stands on its own magical merits, dark and darker still though they may be. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Darker, leaner, less expansive , and meaner, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is all business, and it casts a spell utterly unlike the first four films. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Destined to be remembered as the one that handed the screen Harry his first kiss. Like much of the film, the smooch comes and goes briskly, without a lot of fuss. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Given a choice between this and the navel-gazing of the novel, I'll take the short ride on a fast machine. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The most amazing magic yet for the wildly popular franchise: It is genuinely engrossing. Read full review
75
PremiereGlenn Kenny
Pheonix is smartly-constructed enough that non-acolytes interested in checking out Harry's world won't need too long to catch up. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Is there an admired British thespian who hasn't toiled in Potter's field? Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Harry comes through loud and clear as a conflicted, edgy, avid young man. He's turned into EveryTeen. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
On balance, the filmmakers do a terrific job with one of the weaker stories. It's welcome news that Yates is coming back for one of the stronger ones; he's set to direct "Half-Blood Prince." Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Considerably grimmer and grittier than the previous pictures. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
A sleek, swift and exciting adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s longest novel to date. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
The movie is brisk and lively, if not exactly action-packed. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
This is a gangly, confusing sprawl, and yet there are enough patches of beauty scattered throughout that it's impossible to reject it wholesale. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Save for the thrilling opening sequence, there's not much to remember about the film beyond Staunton (Vera Drake), who masks her bottomless malevolence behind a pasted-on patrician smile. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Whatever happened to the delight and, if you'll excuse the term, the magic in the "Harry Potter" series? As the characters grow up, the stories grow, too, leaving the innocence behind and confusing us with plots so labyrinthine that it takes a Ph.D from Hogwarts to figure them out. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Standouts are Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Harry's sly father-surrogate, and Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
This fifth film should please fans who rate the films based on their fidelity to the canonical texts. But for the uninitiated, it's a dry and slightly dreary introduction to the world of Hogwarts and Azkaban. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
"Phoenix" might go down as the problematic film, full of plot but little fun. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoanne Kaufman
Director David Yates, who is new to the Potter franchise, moves the story along briskly, at the expense of texture and nuance. Read full review
50
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The storytelling seems occasionally disjointed, but more important, for all the special-effects wizardry, that touch of film magic never surfaces. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Taken as a motion picture, the new "Harry" comes up short. But taken as a visual aid to the experience of reading a book, the new "Harry" does its job. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
There are lots of special effects, but sadly, no real magic. Read full review
50
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Something of a letdown. Previous statements aside, I understand Warner Bros. has to set the table for "Half-Blood Prince" and "Deathly Hallows," but too much of Phoenix is filler. And with only two movies left, we better get to the main course in short order. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It finally can't transcend the limitations inherent in being no more than a way station in an epic journey, a journey whose cinematic conclusion is several years away. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Less magic also means less fun and discovery, as Harry battles depression and a hostile press; this is the bleakest Potter installment to date, and under David Yates's choppy direction, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, and David Thewlis have little more than walk-ons. Read full review
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