Order of the Phoenix
Rupert Grint’s Rave Reviews for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
“Of the three friends that take most of the screen time, it is Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley who displays the most promise as an actor, but ironically his is the least used of the three.”
“Grint may look ordinary but the realism and resolve he puts into Ron translates well on screen.”
“No longer is Ron Weasley at the butt-end of all the jokes, with Rupert Grint giving us what is his most accomplished performance yet.”
“Rupert Grint, on the other hand, gave Ronald Weasley a tremendous back bone. I love it!”
“And blimey if Rupert Grint doesn’t storm the barricades of boyishness to find something emergent, touching and vital in Ron Weasley.”
“Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) has an important part in this film and Grint shows how he has grown into this role. He’s much more impressive this time around.”
“… Rupert Grint have developed into fine actors….. Grint has honed his talent in the British film Driving Lessons.”
“Ron (Rupert Grint, getting progressively better)…”
“The tension, the interest, and the emotional tug all have to come from the character interaction and that component is solidly in place. That is not a little due to Grint, who though playing a wizard, provides the mortal, accessible, touch as the hapless but not hopeless sidekick, never quite at ease, but always game, more or less, and more importantly, always ready to be the rock Harry can count on when he’s not sure he can count on himself. Watson has Hermione’s flinty intellect, and Radcliffe has Harry’s showy inner torment to work with, but Grint gives Ron a goofy sort of tenderness that is not just sweet, it’s a refreshing counterpoint to all the dark doings.”
“…while Grint lost his virginity in the indie Driving Lessons–and their extra experience shows in Order.”
“Grint is the superb middleman between Harry and Hermione, and has nearly switched places with Hermione to be the “levelheaded” one of the group.”
“Grint is improving as a lumbering but lovable presence, adding more to the ensemble than he has before.”
“And Grint, although he has less to do in this film, manages to begin the process of inserting a backbone into Ron’s character.”
“Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) has an important part in this film and Grint shows how he has grown into this role. He’s much more impressive this time around.”
“The same can be said for Ron Wesley played by Rupert Grint, who once again steals the screen whenever he says a line. That actor will go far if he lands good roles once the Potter series ends.”
“Grint and Watson have far less screen time than usual but make the most of it. Grint, as he has shown throughout the series, is a fine comic actor that has a great sense of timing and tone.”
“Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma Watson (Hermione) also display a great deal of ability.”
“Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are as dependable and entertaining as ever despite their nominal roles, their husband and wife banter providing much needed comic relief.”
“Hermione and Ron are concealed for a large chunk of the story, but Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have evolved as actors and characters so much that when they do appear they are naturally convincing, Grint is given more to say than “bloody hell” at regular intervals and his touching defence of Harry is a highlight.”
“Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) got little screen time in this one but, at the same time, he grew into an excellent scene stealer.”
“The three main actors, Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have definitely improved over time and give good performances here, particularly Grint who does a good job with Ron, a character that I have never liked.”
“Emma Watson, as Hermione, and Rupert Grint, as Ron, keep their high level of liveliness.”
“Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) have learned to play off of each other quite nicely, and are chiefly responsible for some of the film’s best reaction shots, although Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) gets off a few of her own.”
“And who can forget Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint. The kids are growing up and they’ve brought an amazing amount of maturity to their roles.”
“Speaking of actors, our young trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are blossoming into really talented performers. There’s a heart and soul to the Harry Potter series that’s lacking in a lot of other blockbuster franchises.”
Australia Broadcasting Company
“And that’s just scratching the surface. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint leave no doubt that they’ve matured in their roles as, respectively, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.”
“Rupert Grint also makes his best showing to date as Ron Weasley…”
The Crimson (Harvard Univ paper)
“Like any self-respecting teenager, Potter responds by going into an almighty huff, alienating even his loyal sidekicks Hermione and Ron. (A quick word on Rupert Grint, who plays Ron: as well as unwaveringly providing comic relief as Rowling’s tales get ever darker, he has also enjoyed a growth spurt that puts him roughly a head above poor Radcliffe.)”
“The jealous tension between Harry and Ron is sidelined, leaving Ron (Rupert Grint) with little to do besides shoot concerned looks in Harry’s direction (Ron got HOT, by the way. As did-I feel weird saying this-the kid who plays Draco Malfoy).”
“The darker tones are emphasized more than ever here, but there is lightness, too, much of it courtesy of the love-hate relationship between Harry’s closest friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson). There’s real chemistry between these two young actors, and the barbs they toss back and forth at one another are just right, and never overdone.”
“It must be a pleasure for the fans (not to mention the producers) to see that young Mr. Radcliffe is looking his part more than ever, and is growing along with his tasks. And Rupert Grint shows yet again that he’s a real find in his role as Ron. Emma Watson isn’t quite of the same caliber, but the filmmakers are mostly able to cover up her self-conscious and overly precocious act.”
“Rupert Grint remains believably amiable”
“Likewise, the glances, half-smiles and sparse but revealing dialogue she shares with Rupert Grint as Ron should gladden the hearts of Ron/Hermione worshippers everywhere. It is true that Grint is underused, but he still manages to imbue Ron Weasley with enough warmth and character to make it worthwhile just having him there, even if he doesn’t do much. It may be that these three young actors are, at this point, extremely dependent on their directors. If so, we can thank David Yates for helping make Harry’s troubled state of mind so credible and bringing Hermione back from the brink of severe bipolar disorder. But, since Yates has already signed to direct THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, we could also politely ask him to give Ron a bit more to do next time around.”
“Harry, feeling alienated from his friends and everything around him, not knowing where to turn, wants to go it alone, but Ron (Rupert Grint still effective as the loyal friend), Hermione (Emma Watson still playing the smart girl with conviction) and others won’t let him, showing the power of friendship and belonging.”
“It is time the Potter films break the frame of the preromantic, school-kid adventure, particularly since the leads are growing mature. This series need a serious love story. The increasingly suave comic actor Rupert Grint, who consistently steals every scene he’s in, ought to be given a more serious intrigue now that he is so much more than just the silly ginger-headed Ron Weasley. Or is this something else they’re saving for later?”
“Firstly, that Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are so strikingly superior to Daniel Radcliffe in the acting stakes. … Five films in, all the talk of ‘you know who’ is getting just a touch tedious; but against that Watson and Grint are excellent – and visually the film is as strong as any other in the series.”
“Rupert Grint makes a great Ron once Steve Kloves isn’t there to turn him into a buffoon and take away all his good lines and give them to Hermione. ”
“As Ron young actor Rupert Grint is growing nicely in his craft. He still has a slight geek vibe to his character but in this film he allows Ron to start coming out from the shadow of Harry and Hermione.”
“The surprise of the series is, and remains, Rupert Grint’s blossoming as an actor. I wanted to throttle him constantly during the first two films, but he’s shown remarkable progress since then, and I was genuinely happy to see him onscreen.”
“Rupert Grint’s Ron is reliably innocuous.”
“And, most important, the teen actors get better with every outing. The confused look on Ron’s (Rupert Grint) face as Hermione snippily asks, ”Do you ever stop eating?” is simply wonderful. It’s one of the most natural reaction shots in the entire series, a three-second distillation of what makes Phoenix perhaps the best Potter film yet.”
“The young actors here are by now so comfortable in their roles that they could practically sleepwalk through them. Thankfully, they don’t: One of the pleasures of the Harry Potter movies, as uneven as they’ve been, is that of watching Radcliffe, Watson and Grint grow up, both as people and as actors.
Ron listens, slack-jawed, and replies, in a moment that captures perfectly the cluelessness of young males of the species, “One person couldn’t feel all that!”"
“Harry’s best friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), are flirting with the idea of flirting, but their interactions are often cruelly underplayed, as if Goldenberg and Yates decided to settle for showing the briefest scenes possible in hopes that merely having the characters on screen would communicate the depths of their burgeoning relationships. But it all happens so fast, too fast for any but the most ardent fan to feel satisfied with the short shrift given to character development, which is a shame, because Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson are finally beginning to raise their acting game, perhaps encouraged by the presence of what seems like every major British actor in the supporting cast.”
“Radcliffe gets better with each film, as do his cohorts Watson and Grint. Grint is no longer comic relief, as this film is mostly void of comedy. His character has adapted a more serious tone.”
“Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, playing Harry’s loyal friends Hermione and Ron, inhabit their roles as comfortably by now as old vaudevillians.”
“Radcliffe seems a little out of his depth with all the moody, aggressive attitude he is meant to be portraying, but Grint and Watson support him well so it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the film too much.”
“Radcliffe and Grint prove to be maturing in accordance with their characters…”
“The cast are all brilliant and the children who have all grown up on screen are getting better with each film, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint especially. ”
“And while Watson and Grint continue to offer strong positive support, others in the regular company [...] are given surprisingly short shrift here.”
“And we’d probably be better off if Emma Watson, who stiltedly plays Potter pal Hermione, just vanished. At the least the filmmakers ought to give over the bulk of her lines to Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley. ”
Access Atlanta (Bob Longino)
“The danger is more palpable this time, a sense of looming menace in almost every scene, and the actors — particularly the main trio of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint — pull it off with aplomb. All three really have grown as actors since they first hit the screen in The Philosopher’s Stone.”
“Just as Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) greet Harry with exuberant hugs after a long summer apart, so too we realize how much we’ve missed our old friends. But this isn’t child’s play anymore. Even a cursory glance at our heroes reveals the obvious – these are not the children who first meandered into Hogwarts all those years ago, babyfaced and bewildered. These are nearly adults, far more confident in their own skins.”
“Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint all still play their roles perfectly. It’s amazing to see them growing up on the screen (as emphasized by some flashbacks).”
“Radcliffe and Grint have grown into great young actors…”
“Like Alfonso Cuarón and Mike Newell before him, Yates elicits strong performance from the leads, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson…”
“Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have grown up in front of our eyes as the stars of the Harry Potter movies. As each actor has blossomed physically, their acting skills have also blossomed.”
“Seeing early pictures of Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) is a sweet moment indeed. Way back then, casting the trio with an eye toward their endurance as an acting team for a decade must have been daunting. The talent of the three has deepened they have grown up on screen.
Hermione and Ron have remained supportive friends to Harry while developing strong personalities of their own.”
“For the most part, the cast are well utilised, with genuine chemistry between Grint, Watson and Radcliffe.”
“Radcliffe’s Harry, Rupert Grint’s Ron, and Emma Watson’s Hermione are all maturing – in every sense – at a fitting rate, digits be damned, and carry more consistency from film to film than even the lavish production design can claim to.”
E-Film Critic (William Goss)
“The casting of the Potter pictures has been superb: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have grown gracefully into their roles as Harry, Ron and Hermione, blossoming from the awkward child actors of Sorcerer’s Stone to the thoughtful performers of Phoenix (I only wish they’d been given more to do).”
“The performances are uniformly of a high standard here, particularly by Radcliffe as our eponymous hero, but he is given solid support by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Ron and Hermione respectively. No doubt this is because they are no longer wet behind the ears and have spent time working with some of the best the RSC [Royal Shakespeare Company] has churned out.”
“… cultural pessimists of my generation can take comfort in knowing that while our parents may have witnessed Malcolm McDowell and Julie Christie in their prime, our children will see Mr. Grint and Ms. Watson in theirs.”
“Also spreading their wings are Grint and Watson. Grint’s Ron is less the butt of jokes this time around and more a part of Harry’s support system — a friend who not only knows when to take the steam off Harry, but how to also be quiet when needed.”
“The rest I will let you discover for yourself, but just know that the cast is solid, all but a couple shaky moments from Emma Watson as Hermione, with Rupert Grint out acting all of the kids in the movies.”
“(…)The magical trio has improved a lot, but hasn’t reached an ideal level of their acting, except for Rupert Grint, Ron, who is clearly the one actor that has matured professionally the most, and does a very competent job everytime he’s on the screen.”
Cineplayers (in Portuguese – transl. by Wicked Jo)
“His (Harry’s) closest friends, played by Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have also undergone positive developments (although I personally got stuck on Watson’s desperate attempts not to exaggarate her acting).”
Disc Shop Kids (in Swedish – transl. by Karin)
“Ron and Hermione are my favourites in the movie, together with Hagrid.”
Nerrikes Allehanda (in Swedish – transl. by Karin)
“Ron’s crush on Hermione is more played down and is therefore much more charming.”
Nordjyske (in Danish – transl. by Malene)
“Among the leading trio, only Rupert Grint rises to the occasion.”
Literaturnaya gazeta (in Russian – transl. by Himera)
“Rupert Grint doesn’t have enough screen time for me – he is a great comic and I love his developing relationship with Hermione.”
“It’s clear by now that Radcliffe, Watson and Grint were terrific casting choices, though this time Grint has little to do.”
“Consider poor Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), each of whom is aging nicely. Neither is given much of significance to do other than appear as Harry’s sideshow stooges.”
“Due to time constraints, Ron and Hermione don’t have very big nor important roles this time around. Rupert Grint does his job just as well as he’s ever done, but Emma Watson is still a bit iffy”
“I’ve said this before, but Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint have really grown into their roles. I think that their efforts in these films have likely succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. I’m not saying that they’re necessarily Oscar-worthy performances, but find their acting to be very honest and natural.”
Please note that as articles get older they may not be available for you to view. That is why ICM has made sure all Rupert parts are included on the site.