I think it’s clear by now that the once cherub-like Harry Potter has grown into an appropriately angst-ridden teen. If it wasn’t the infamous nude-horse production Equus that gave it away, then seeing Harry Potter and the Order the Phoenix should do the trick. Gone is the feathery hair, the curious voice and the look of innocence; in its place: a furrowed brow, an impatient tone, and a masculine crew-cut. Order of the Phoenix is the fifth installment of the series and by far the most dark and worrisome, yet it’s equally complex, enchanted and visually stunning as the rest.

At a glance, this installment finds Harry battling naysayers that believe Lord Voldemort has not, in fact, returned, and that Harry is quite the liar. Harry’s stalwart beliefs are negatively received by the Ministry of Magic, who dispatches Dolores Umbridge to Hogwarts to run interference (among other meddlings). It’s a fairly classic battle of the common-sense public battling the obstinate governing body, except for being set amidst magic and odd creatures. Ultimately, Harry and his believers are proven right, but not before much of the film wraps.

Broadly, Order of the Phoenix does an expectedly superb job at moving through the story, maturing the plot and characters and providing a level of familiarity that makes it seem a natural appendage of the last (Prisoner of Azkaban). Not having actually read the series, it’s hard to comment on the extent of the details that didn’t make it off the paper — there has been much reporting to this effect; but there is a distinct smell to the movie that some points have been glossed over or not sufficiently realized. But at near three hours of run-time, and a football team-sized top-tier cast, it’s hard to imagine going any deeper.

One character, however, that finally receives some overdue face-time is Lord Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes. One of the most delicious, dark and devilish villains to grace the big screen, Fiennes-as-Voldemort creates an exceptionally rich, reptilian-like rogue that would make Hannibal Lector want to conjure a Patronous charm.