Adolescence hits Harry Potter like a juggernaut full of newts’ tongues. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fresh-faced boy wizard is gone and in his place is a bruised, hollow-eyed teenager struggling to cope with the very prosaic concerns that blot the lives of adolescents the world over. He’s alienated; he’s so angry he barely knows or trusts himself any more. And he’s developed a giant crush on a fellow Hogwarts pupil, Cho Chang (Katie Leung).

Of course Harry has more to worry about than teen angst, skin eruptions and unexpected hormonal surges. The cliffhanger ending that closed the previous instalment left Harry with first-hand experience of the mortality of innocent bystanders who get caught in the crossfire of his increasingly personal feud with the evil Lord Voldemort. Disillusioned by a newspaper smear campaign against him and the fact that the Ministry of Magic fails to believe his story, Harry initially hunkers down into an almighty teenage sulk.

Perhaps it’s the introduction of a new screenwriter (Michael Goldenberg takes over from Steve Kloves), a new director (the British TV veteran David Yates) or perhaps the fact that with Harry’s age comes a new complexity, but Daniel Radcliffe has brought a raw-nerved intensity to the role that was absent before.

BACKGROUND

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• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Sunday Times review

• The fifth element

• Actresses are 'insane', says Daniel Radcliffe

• Potter magic at premiere turns out to be illusion

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

First review of fifth instalment: fails to cause stir of earlier films and feels like a chore

Related Internet Links

• Watch Screen Online - Harry Potter special

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• Order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows online

Not all the peripheral characters are so well served. This is the weightiest of the Potter books so far, and the challenge was to bring it to the screen without the story seeming too episodic. The casualties of a narrative whittled out of the bulging novel are Emma Thompson’s dithering professor, Sybil Trelawney (two scenes), and David Thewlis, who gets barely one line as Remus Lupin.

But the cull of established characters gives free rein to the film’s major asset. Imelda Staunton plays the new professor, Dolores Umbridge, as a cross between Barbara Cartland and anthrax. A sadist in a fuchsia-pink twinset, she simpers with toxic delight as her punishments carve chunks out of the morale of the school (and occasionally also the students).

Staunton is great fun – she’s certainly one of the more colourful villains to strike fear into the hearts of the Hogwarts students. And she brings a levity to a film which otherwise continues the trend that started with Alfonso Cuarón’s third instalment: Harry’s world is increasingly dark and dangerous. The jeopardy in this story has less to do with losing honour on the quidditch pitch and more with potentially losing a life.

The other stars of the film are the impressive special effects. The Ministry of Magic is a chilly, deco palace that wouldn’t look out of place in a Fritz Lang vision of dystopia. But the unexpected charmer is Hagrid’s half-brother, a simple, sad giant who takes a fancy to bossy Hermione. Although entirely rendered in CGI, the giant outacts several of the supporting cast members with a moment of pure pathos – seeking to impress Hermione, he roots around in his pile of junk and comes up with a bicycle handlebar which he passes to her, gently ringing the bell and scanning her face for approval.

While this serviceable addition to the Potter series is unlikely to win any new fans, it’s probably not going to disappoint too many of the existing ones. The formulaic structure notwithstanding, the Potter films continue to be one of the most visually inventive and meticulously detailed franchises.

12A, 138mins

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