Movie: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter 4)
 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter 4) Date: na — DVD / VHS Rating: |
If you don't want any spoilers, I highly suggest you avoid reading the review. But this time, I'm operating under the assumption that most people have read the book, and anyone who really wanted to see the movie has seen it by now.
This movie was, well, eeehh.
What I liked about the latest Potter movie was the direction was effective. There was a smorgasbord of very powerful visual shots, and special effects that actually surpassed those in the previous movies. The Quidditch World cup and the Yule Ball were spectacularly rendered. Some of the changes -- such as the insertion of the 'dance lesson' scene with McGonagall added a layer of humor without detracting from the spirit of the story.
For the most part, the acting was excellent (again). Brendan Gleeson did very well as Mad-Eye Moody, and Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort perfectly. Oliver and James Phelps provided lots of humor as Fred and George Weasley. [A side note: contrary to Noah's prediction, Emma Watson is getting hotter -- so I was right. Just thought I'd mention that.]
Unfortunately, there was a lot that I didn't like. The main thing was the editing. I'm no pro movie critic or even a movie afficionado, but the whole time it seemed to me that the movie was hacked to pieces, reconstituted and then sent to theaters. Many plotlines and events were simply left out and unexplained. One minute Harry sees the twins walk by and says "Wait a minute"...and the next scene he and Ron are preparing to meet their dates for the Yule Ball. One minute, Ludo Bagman (or was it Barty Crouch?) was lying in the woods unconscious; the next scene moves on as if that never happened, and the event never gets explained. At the end, dumbledore cconcludes that Harry saw his parents in his brief battle with Voldemort -- but he never explains why this happened either to Harry or to the audience. The house elves were removed entirely, and many other important aspects of the story didn't make the cut.
Daina explained to me that the studio had actually wanted to split this book into two movies -- but that the director insisted on putting out one. That decision was a mistake. Considering this book is at least twice as long as any preceding it, you would think the director would have liked the audience to see a less abrupt version of the movie he shot. Sadly, I guess not.
Alan Rickman, my favorite actor in the movie, barely had any dialogue at all. Worse, Dumbledore did not give off any of the kindness and confidence he is supposed to display. Instead, he came off disorganized, twitchy, and easily excitable. This shift was a big and unwelcome diversion from the Dubledore of the books.
In sum, this movie is fun for Harry Potter fans who are very familiar with the book. Those who have not read J.K. Rowling's stories will find themselves scratching their heads and asking a lot of questions.
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since: 18 Oct 2004