Teenage wizard Harry Potter flew into Northern Ireland last night to conjure up the most anticipated cinema box office attraction of the summer.

The brainbox on a broomstick was back on the big screen before a specially-invited audience in Belfast.

They saw the latest phase of Harry's struggle against the evil Voldemort - Hogwarts 'n' all.

So does Harry weave yet another magical movie spell or fall on his Dark Arts?

Just three days before it hits cinemas across the nation, around 300 people were given a sneak of the fifth movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was almost simultaneous with the premiere in Los Angeles, though none of the superstar cast attended and there were no celebrity guests.

And to combat the internet download thieves, the VIP audience were asked to hand in mobile phones which have camera functions.

They witnessed the virtual who's-who of the British acting profession which now makes up the Potter cast - Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Robert Hardy, Julie Walters, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman ... and so on.

Like the last one - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - this has been granted a 12A certificate, so many parents will have to weigh up whether it's a little too scary for the wee wans.

Harry and his pals Hermione and Ron, meanwhile, have moved from wee wands to big wands.

In a stroke of marketing genius, the two-hours twenty minutes movie comes just ten days before the release of the all-important final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

But J K Rowling's books now exist in an almost separate, more complex fantasy world. The movies have had to become much more broad-brush.

At one point in Phoenix, Director David Yates - until now, best known for TV's State of Play - suddenly skips 200 pages, I am reliably assured by those in the know, namely my Potter-mad off-spring.

Noel's final verdict will appear in the Belfast Telegraph's Friday entertainment pull-out, 24/7.