At a mere two hours and 18 minutes, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is the shortest film in the series -- no
small feat, considering the book it's based on is the longest. Subplots have been cut, and some fans will surely be shocked and appalled, but they needn't be. Streamlined though the film may be, the important thing is that it doesn't feel streamlined. It feels like an exciting and fast-paced fantasy adventure -- which is exactly what it's supposed to feel like. British TV director David Yates is the latest man to walk through the series' revolving door (he'll do "Half-Blood Prince," too), and he brings with him an admirable work ethic. Chris Columbus' first two entries were rambly, and Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell had a great deal of fun putting their own imprimaturs on Nos. 3 and 4 . If Yates has an identifying mark to his directorial style, I missed it. He's a for-hire director who gets the job done with the appropriate levels of humor, energy, and thrills, but without a lot of time-wasting foolishness in between. Get in, get 'r done, and get out. And it works. As satisfying as it was to see someone like Cuaron make a movie that was unquestionably "his," I realize now that it's also a pleasure to see someone make a movie in a serviceable, cheerfully anonymous style. Yates, working from an adaptation by new-to-the-series Michael Goldenberg ( "Peter Pan" ), does just that. The movie works the way a Harry Potter movie ought to. It's not perfect -- a few ends remain loose, a few characters get shafted -- but it's very good.
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