Review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) by Allistaire. — 18 Nov 2005

Another long wait for a new Harry Potter movie and another long wait in line to see it. The first three films were overall faithful to the books, and had some of the best directing, casting, and art direction of the decade.

The first had a wonderful joyous quality (my personal fav.), the 2nd had a great feeling of mystery, and 3rd (aesthetically the best) was awe-inspiringly beautiful and gloomy. They stood just as great as the books (although in my opinion nothing beats your imagination, so the books will always win by default).

Now, with Goblet of Fire I found myself constanlty asking why. Why did they take that part out? Why did they add in the extra action? Why didn't they emphasize on that scene? I think the movie was victim to a poor script and a bland director, but still survives on the great visual set up that past directors have built and the wonderful cast.

I know that with a book so big, cutting out scenes and characters was a necessary evil. But why did they make Dumbledore seem viscious at times? Why did they leave out some very lovable and interesting characters? Why didn't they take some time to make sense of what was going on and why? It came clear to me half way through the movie that for once the book and movie are very different.

The movie on it's own feet is perhaps the most fun of all the movies and will hopefully be a bridge to 3 much more susperior films. If you read the book the whole thing feels like a slide show (trust me, your friends will be constanlty asking "why did that happen.

...what was that part about?), but it's still a good time and fun to see things come to life on the big screen. Anyway, it has Jarvis Cocker and Johnny Greenwood, plus Emma Watson is a hottie. Worth your money and time.