Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; my overdue review

At long last; here it is!

First of all, I have a few things to say before I get to the review of the Goblet of Fire. If you are like, “dammit, this is like the 108475893749857389475893745983475th review I have seen of Harry Potter…”; save it, because I asked before I wrote it to see if anyone was interested. I felt 5 was a good number, and 5 obliged, so we are moving forward. Second, my review may have quite a few spoilers in it, but, and I believe I have said this before; the book came out several years ago containing, miraculously, the entire story the movie is based on. So, well, the book beat me by several years on the whole spoiler thing. If you don’t want to see these so called spoilers, look away children. Third and final thing, I just want to say, I can’t believe they strayed so much from the book by letting Ron die instead of Cedric Diggery. I mean, how are they going to fix that in the next movie?!?! (here’s where I am fucking with you!!!) Enough with the silliness. Here’s my review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

Going into this film, after loving the third one so very much (after all, the third book still remains my favorite), and knowing the increased length and importance of the fourth book, I admit that I was worried about how they were going to attempt to carry off this movie. There was just such a substantial amount of material to cover, that I was truly worried that the producers would end up cutting out more than should be allowed, and we would end up missing something; or at least feeling like we did. But, luckily, that didn’t happen. The film achieves the ultimate goal of translating the book directly to the screen. But, like many that strive so hard to succeed, this film does have a few areas that simply miss the mark.

Given that this Potter film was helmed by yet another director, a British one this time, it was to be expected that there would be some stylistic differences between this film and the other three. While these differences are often visible by their absence, and noticeably present by their interpretations throughout the entire film, mostly, they are a welcomed delight. The director took Harry Potter in a direction that it hasn’t been before. Even though the third book was so dark, and tackled intense drama and very adult themes (not that kind of adult); the fourth book brought us the first substantial death of a character; and presented it as a pivotal moment that could not be otherwise left out. While watching this movie, the viewer inexplicably feels that it sheds its remaining “children’s book/children’s movie” skin, and leaps full force into fantasy and adventure for *most* of the family. (I say most, because, if you have read the book, you know that this is the first time we actually see Voldemort, and coupled with the death I mentioned just before, it highlights a dark and gruesome experience for Harry; as well as the audience.) This movie was far more serious, and shows the kids awkwardly growing up; yet this also happens to be a place where the film falls short in a major way. Given that the book was so detailed and covered so many events, it is understandable that a few things would have to suffer; and in the fourth film, it is the first time the movie has taken the focus off of the three main characters for even a few moments, let alone much of the duration of the movie. This is not to say that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are not the stars, but it there is so much else occurring, that there are times when they actually blend in with the other students. While, overall, this is not that big of a deal, those looking for movie that revolves solely around the three kids will not find it here; they remain central, yet detached due to the depth of material that must be covered for the story to be told.

With that observation, it also becomes more apparent that the movie seems hurried to include all of the necessary elements; without the consideration of the audience. Like many of the other adaptations, it is always recommended that you have read the book before attending the film, but in this case, I would say that it is practically required. Many elements are portrayed so subtly that without the rich descriptions and extensive definitions of JK Rowling, you may miss the nuances that she worked so hard to integrate into the story. Given that I have read the book, and remember as much as one could having read it several years ago; I do believe that it is not necessarily a weakness in the film adaptation, moreso an observation of a producer and director trying to get as much bang for the buck as possible. Given this criticism, I don’t see how it could have been made differently, without the obvious extension of the movie for at least one or two more hours. Granted, many would agree that sitting through an extra hour or so would be worth it if the story were allowed to progress like the book, and have a natural rhythm; but, as we see by the finished product, it obviously wasn’t the unanimous choice of the studio. Those that have not read the book, or have managed to forget a large chunk of the detail from the book, should not be disappointed by the element, in fact, I doubt many will even notice what they are missing. The story, visuals, and cinematography make up for missing elements, and provide the audience with an often beautiful visual experience. Several scenes come to mind, but it is clear that the director focused on making Harry’s world one that is filled with beauty and imagination. In this film, the walls of Hogwarts are abandoned for vast landscapes of all different kinds; which draws you in to the story even deeper. Perhaps, this was a tactic to draw your attention away from the hurried feel of the movie; and most of the time, I have to say it works.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an excellent fantasy film that captures another year in the life of the character of Harry Potter. Does it match up exactly with the book? Probably not exactly. If it did, it would probably be a four or five hour film. Do the main characters have the same naiveté they held in the first two films, but showed promise of shedding in the third? Definitely not, and honestly, it is for the better. This movie achieved what the book was trying to make us believe, these kids are growing up and becoming more mature. The only questionable, and unavoidable problem with these kids, is that they are being portrayed by older actors, and it is going to be harder and harder to convince us that they are aging only a year per film, for much longer. Perhaps, these 14 year olds are just a little mature for the age, right? Either way, I guess it is best to say that if you like Harry Potter, chances are, you will love this film. This was by far the best film, both visually, and story-wise; but that is thanks to a great book. In my opinion, the only thing that represented a shortcoming, was the hurried feel, and had a deeper attention to Rowling’s detail, this movie would be even better. With that being said, it was, even given its downfalls, a winner. I give Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, six out of six stars. I bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?