WT

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007 · Directed by David Yates

🧘15

Woke Score

71

Critic

🍿76

Audience

Ultra Based

Critics rated this 56 points above its woke score. Among Ultra Based films, this critic score ranks #587 of 1469.

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Synopsis

Returning for his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Left with no choice, Harry takes matters into his own hands, training a small group of motivated students to defend themselves against the Dark Arts.

Consciousness Assessment

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix exists in that peculiar position of the franchise where it had accumulated sufficient cultural prominence to attract scrutiny yet remained fundamentally a children's fantasy adventure. The film's approach to social consciousness is incidental rather than intentional. The casting reflects a reasonably diverse British ensemble, though this appears to stem from the simple fact that Britain itself is diverse, not from any deliberate statement about representation. The narrative concerns the suppression of truth by authoritarian institutions, a theme that might be mistaken for progressive commentary if one squints hard enough, but the film treats this as basic plot mechanics rather than cultural critique.

The absence of LGBTQ representation in the text itself is notable, particularly given the later authorial revelations about Dumbledore's sexuality. Here, in 2007, such subtext remains entirely submerged. The film makes no particular gestures toward feminist consciousness beyond featuring female characters who happen to be competent, which is to say it treats them as normal human beings rather than making that normalcy a subject of celebration. Dolores Umbridge functions as a villain of institutional oppression, but her characterization trades more in gothic grotesquerie than in any sophisticated examination of power structures. Body positivity, neurodivergence, climate consciousness, anti-capitalist sentiment, and revisionist history all register at zero. The film lectures not, preferring instead the relatively straightforward business of moving its plot forward.

What we have is a film that belongs to 2007, when the concept of social consciousness in blockbuster entertainment had not yet crystallized into the particular constellation of markers that would define the 2020s discourse. It is neither ahead of its time nor aggressively retrograde. It simply exists in that pre-transformation moment when a film could be culturally significant without being culturally conscious in any contemporary sense.

Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm

Critic Reviews

71%from 37 reviews
New York Magazine (Vulture)100

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.

David EdelsteinRead Full Review →
New York Daily News100

It's action-packed, darker, more epic and thankfully schmaltz-free. And it's the best "Harry Potter" film yet.

Colin BertramRead Full Review →
Village Voice100

In narrative terms, not that much happens, but as for Harry's emotional journey--well, that's nearly epic.

Scott FoundasRead Full Review →
Chicago Reader50

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.

Andrea GronvallRead Full Review →