Order of the Phoenix, IMAX Style

One of the many great things about having an 11 year old stepdaughter is having someone with whom to share my love of Harry Potter.

The release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has long been counted down in our house and since school is out now, we decided to attend the 12:01 showing of the film at our local IMAX theater. We were not disappointed.

Arriving in time to get a good seat in an IMAX theater is a must. With a screen the length of two school buses and as high as the floor to the ceiling of the theater, you don’t want to be stuck down front. We arrived two hours early last night, but then again, it was the first showing. We did not, however, dress in costume for the occasion.

On the huge IMAX screen, the flying scenes put you right on the broom with the characters. The shots coming over the castle were breathtaking. The scene where Fred and George Weasley light up the school with fireworks was amazing.

With the massive IMAX surround sound, you could hear the clicking of Dolores Umbridge’s heels on the stone as she came up from behind in the theater, passed by, and then stood on the screen in front of you. The features of the IMAX theater really enhanced this film.

The only thing I didn’t like about the IMAX presentation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the 3D portion at the end. With about 20 minutes to go in the film, green glasses begin to flash across the bottom of the screen, indicating that you should put on your 3D glasses at that point.

The 3D portion of the film includes a flying scene and a fighting scene, with 3D effects being used as you would imagine they would. I didn’t feel like it made the movie any better, and quite frankly, found it distracting.

Overall, it was a great experience. If you are a Harry Potter fan and you live in a town with an IMAX theater, I would highly recommend making sure you catch this film on the BIG, big screen.