Potter 5 opens

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

Who would have guessed that a giggly 50-ish lady in a fuzzy pink suit could upstage all the witches, wizards and dark villains that populate the world of Harry Potter?

But such is the case in the enchantingly rendered Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (* * * ½ out of four), which features the versatile British actress Imelda Staunton as the smug, order-loving Dolores Umbridge.

The character, as written by J.K. Rowling in her fifth Harry Potter book, was nuanced and cleverly conceived on the page. But Staunton brings her own disquieting flourishes to the part, as well as superb comic timing. The fluttery giggles and singsong voice added by Staunton are brilliant choices. She's a vision of villainy in rose, her starched bouffant coif decorated by little pink bows.

Order of the Phoenix deals with Harry's efforts to convince his Hogwarts classmates that Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is ready to attack. Harry is portrayed as a liar by the Ministry of Magic (its headquarters gorgeously designed in a style that blends Victorian with futuristic art). He clandestinely organizes a gathering of students, teaching them to defend themselves against dark magic.

The film has the look and feel of a contemporary horror thriller, particularly in scenes in which Harry has nightmares involving Voldemort. Also chilling is a sequence in which he and his friends battle the masked Death Eaters. These scenes, typified by sharp, fast cuts and terrifying visuals, suit the dark material.

Tautly directed and artfully shot by David Yates, Order of the Phoenix has poignant moments along with visual panache. (Several overhead shots of the Ministry buildings and Hogwarts school are stunning.) The movie opens with Harry, an orphan, longingly watching a mother and child at the playground. He also has an emotional exchange with his godfather, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who reassures Harry about his spiraling anger. Among the film's most haunting moments is Harry's anguished reaction to a tragedy after an epic battle.

A pair of flying sequences dazzle, with Harry and others soaring over the Thames on broomstick and later on the backs of thestrals, huge winged equine/reptilian creatures.

Less intriguing is a scene involving dementors, visualized less artfully by Yates than in Alfonso Cuaro´n's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Harry has his first on-screen kiss, with Cho Chang (Katie Leung). It's a tender moment, but much of the book's romance is left out of the film.

Helena Bonham Carter co-stars as the evil Bellatrix Lestrange, but the character seems like Version 666.0 of several of her punk-Goth portrayals.

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. (Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images. Running time: 2 hours, 18 minutes. Opens tonight in select theaters, nationwide on Wednesday.)