Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Let me preface this review by saying that I liked each of Harry Potter movies in the theater only to be bored out of my mind when I rented the first two for a second viewing. That being said, Goblet of Fire is clearly the best of the four.

I was especially impressed with the deft hand in the compression necessary in translating such a long book into an interesting movie. I feared the Quidditch World Cup could take half an hour or more, but Newell took the correct path in hardly dwelling on it at all. Also very clever was the removal of the Bertha Jorkins sub-plot. While her story would have improved the logical consistency of the movie, she wasn't what we call necessary. Finally, as much as it pains me, I'd like to applaud the decision to remove almost all classroom time. Painful, but necessary. Rita Skeeter was also handled exceptionally well.

As in any adaption of book to film, I have numerous minor quibbles. Hermione is far too pretty. The Ball scene loses a lot of its punch, when she's so good looking anyway. Also, do Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have a thing for each other? Neither the script nor the books give any hint of it, but sometimes it appeared that Harry and Hermione like each other. While Hermione was too pretty, Fleur Delacour was not nearly pretty enough. Cutting out the Veela plotline was needed, but they didn't have to make her less attractive than Hermione. On a side note, I think it's time to stop dwelling upon the looks of a fifteen-year-old. Also, Krum and Cedric were to similar in temperament. I don't know why they couldn't have made Krum the ungainly outsider he is in the books. It would have made his character more memorable. I wish they could have included a glimpse of Bellatrix Lestrange at the trial, since she has rather a major part to play. Finally I thought the scene where Harry returns Cedric's body could have been a little less hurried.

Surprisingly enough, I only had two major complaints with Goblet of Fire. First, and most importantly, Dumbledore. For some reason Newell decided to do completely away with the slightly insane aspect of Dumbledore's personality. He also decided to ignore Dumbledore's majesty and calm. What we have left is a scared old man, who actually slams Harry into a pillar after he's named the fourth champion. He seems the most drastically changed character from the books. With little reason, I might add. Even Dumbledore's wisdom seems to suffer. Also, for the sake of suspense, I would have liked Nellew to have kept up the charade of Moody just a little longer. Although I already knew the plot, it seemed to me that Moody was marked as evil as soon as he dragged Harry away from Cedric's corpse.

For all that is lost in the transition from book to movie, there are some aspects to which the book just can't compare. The Goblet of Fire itself was far more impressive in the movie. There are so many wonders described in the book, that sometimes it's hard to realize just how marvelous some of the objects are. The initial sighting of the boat from Durmstrang was also impressive. The age (and experience) difference between Harry and the other three champions was also effectively demonstrated. I was very happy so see a well done CGI dragon. The Hungarian Horntail was the best dragon I've every seen. The special effects as a whole were one of the real strengths of the movie; something not true of the previous three. Finally, I think Ralph Fiennes did an absolutely wonderful job as Voldemort.

If you haven't seen Goblet of Fire yet, definitely go. This is an experience you don't want to miss on the big screen.