Mesmerizing Harry Potter Sweeps into Movie Theaters

Holy Quidditch! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix flies onto the silver screen tomorrow just two weeks before the ballyhooed release of the final book of the wizard saga. It seems to have cast a spell on critics, like Rolling Stone's Peter Travers, who says it will "keep you riveted" with a "pulse-quickening urgency."

A.O. Scott of the New York Times calls the series' fifth film "sleek, swift and exciting," featuring an "astonishing ensemble" of  actors. But not every critic sees the cinematic wizardry. Newsweek's David Ansen calls it a "letdown"  that's "stuck in one nightmarish gear." (More Harry Potter stories.)