Harry Potter is growing up, and so are his films . Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," opening today as the fifth installment of the eventual seven, is darker and more threatening - more of a real movie than earlier adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Credit: Warner Bros.

Doom looms on all sides as Harry and his Hogwarts mates face formidable challenges from You-Know-Who - the Dark Lord . He, we dare to proclaim , is Lord Voldemort.

But aside from all the dark fantasy, "Phoenix" also presents an intense Harry who faces growing into manhood with a quieter, less frantic approach than in the other movies. He is still very much a wizard, but he is becoming more human, a signal we should be afraid, very afraid (and, consequently, more involved). This guy doesn't have time for Quidditch anymore. It's no longer a game.

Even though "Phoenix" is based on the longest of Rowling's novels to date (nearly 900 pages ), it is the shortest of the movies, suggesting the filmmakers, at long last, are not as scared of the readers (or Rowling) as they once were.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Credit: Warner Bros.

More compact, "Phoenix" touches most of the bases, but it is not a slave of the book . Instead of a frantic pace that tried to beat its audience into submission, the story unfolds in a more logical way. It may be accepted; after all, the "Potter" audience is growing up, too. The youngsters who began reading the books in elementary school may now have the patience to accept a film that's about mortal fear rather than just about games .