Unless you've been hiding under a very large rock, you'll be aware that July is the month of Harry Potter. Not only is the seventh and final book released on Saturday, but the film version of the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix, opened in London on 12 July.
There are no less than thirty cinemas showing the film in London, so you certainly have plenty of viewing options. Londonist likes to do things a bit differently though, so we took the opportunity to check out the film at London's largest screen, at the BFI IMAX cinema.
We won't go into a huge amount of detail about the film, although we did enjoy it very much. It's hard to make a 766 page novel into a 138 minute film, but director David Yates and screenwriter Michael Goldberg have done a pretty good job. All the important bits are there, and it sets up the sixth film very nicely.
What makes the IMAX experience different than a normal cinema is, of course, the giant screen. It's 20 metres high and 26 metres wide, which really does make you feel like you're in the middle of the action. In a few scenes it's perhaps a little too close for comfort, but the enormous close ups did give us the opportunity to notice that Daniel Radcliffe has really lovely skin.
The last twenty minutes of the film are in 3D, which we quite enjoyed as we always like wearing 3D glasses. The film wasn't shot with 3D in mind though, and there are a few scenes where the characters are standing around talking which doesn't make for very exciting viewing. In the the more action filled scenes though, it really works and makes them even more impressive. There are no shocking, jump out of your seat moments like you'd expect from your normal 3D film, but it does add a fun element to the action scenes.
If you're a Harry Potter fan and haven't already raced out to see the latest film, and if you can wait until August when it opens at the BFI IMAX, we'd recommend it.
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix opens at the BFI Imax on 3 August. Tickets are £8/£12 and can be purchased through the box office on 0870 787 2525 or the BFI website.
