Reviews

Goblet of Fire: Another shallow rendition

By: Cindy

(Disclaimer: I generally believe that you should see a movie or read a book twice before making an official judgment. In this case, however, due to a lack of time, I have only viewed Goblet of Fire once. Additionally, please do not be offended if I happen to dislike something you thoroughly enjoyed about the movie or characters. This is just my opinion.)

With all the hype Goblet of Fire has been getting regarding its violent and scary nature, I was quite prepared to spend a lot of the movie peeking through my fingers that would inevitably be covering my eyes. Perhaps after 22 years of movies, TV, and music I’ve become desensitized, but I sat very calmly throughout the whole movie. Several reviews prior to the release talked about how the first 15 minutes were jam-packed with murder, violence, terror, etc.

(I felt the terror, that’s for sure. But it was for quite another reason entirely. Before moving on, I should perhaps state that Goblet of Fire is, hands down, my favorite Harry Potter book. With that being said, I was incredibly horror-struck to see that the first five minutes of the movie whizzed through about five chapters of the books. I was prepared for the fact that the movie would not be including a lot of information from the 700+ page book, but I was not prepared to see whole sub-plots changed. Winky the house elf, gone; eccentric Ludo Bagman, gone; Barty Crouch Jr., out in the open. No suspense there. And I’m still wondering what exactly the purpose of the whole Quidditch World Cup (QWC) was aside from introducing Krum who played a minor and fairly unimportant role, at best. (More to come on that particular topic.) If I were not an avid Harry Potter fan, I think I would have been very confused as to what exactly was going on during the first 15 minutes or so. The scene changes had zero fluidity, continuity, and were generally sporadic.

(The thing that concerns me slightly is that everything is connected in the HP series. One thing happens in book 3 and that event gets built upon in each successive book. Therefore, if something was left out of this movie, they will not appear in the next movies because there would be no explanation for their sudden appearance. This means, no Weasley’s Whizard Wheezes because there was no reference to Fred and George’s joke experimentation and Harry never gave them the money that will allow them to open their business in book 6. Before pushing aside the “minor” changes the producers made in Goblet of Fire, consider what impact this will have in future movies.

(In this movie we were introduced to several new characters. The Triwizard characters were given a lot of publicity in particular before the release, but for what reason, I’m still not sure. Krum, for instance, had one line, I believe, even though he went to the Yule Ball with Hermione. Fleur had more kissing scenes then she had actual lines. On the other hand, I thought Robert Pattison was brilliant and had just enough camera time. We were also introduced to Brendan Gleeson, who played Mad-Eye Moody. Despite his robotic features, Gleeson’s acting was one of the best of the movie, in my opinion. He was ruthless, slightly mental, and definitely had emotional issues due to his past as an auror. It is worth mentioning at this point that I thought Snape was extremely out of character for the better part of the movie. His contempt for Harry seemed to have vanished and for one uneasy moment I thought I even saw a hint of… concern for Harry?

(That brings us to the two actors that, for me, had as much depth as a quickly evaporating puddle: Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. While Dumbledore was busy spouting cliché “life-truths” and shoving Harry up against a wall, Hermione was busy furrowing her eyebrows every chance she got, and tearing up at the mere mention of Unforgivable Curses. While Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, the Phelps twins, and Matthew Lewis have all matured a little, Emma Watson seems to be stuck in the over-the-top, Basic Acting 101 she used to make it through the first three movies. Gambon, for me, has never been a convincing Dumbledore. While I bawled at the end of book 6 when Dumbledore was killed, I am certain if Gambon remains for movie 6, I will not shed a tear for him. There is no connection between he and Harry, and definitely no connection between him and the movie viewer.

(The tasks were probably very aesthetically pleasing for those with little imagination, but for me, they were disappointing. Harry cast roughly four or five spells during the whole movie, despite the fact that he was one of four competing in a magical competition. Instead of showing real flying ability in task 1, he took off out of the stadium and did yet another chase across the castle with lots of room to move. He even had to be reminded by Hermione from the stands to “Accio” his broom to him. I’m not sure if the producers were intentionally trying to make Harry look incompetent or not, but that’s how I viewed it. Task 2 was definitely the best portrayed in my opinion. Task 3 on the other hand, was supposed to be the most difficult task. I was really looking forward to seeing Harry kick some trash, to prove he could compete with the best of them. But there was no Sphinx, no Skrewts, just some whipping wind and pale-eyed, possessed Krum.

(And then we have the most critical scene of the whole scene, the re-birth of Lord Voldemort. It was definitely the high point of the whole film. Ralph Fiennes was an inspired Voldemort. He was chilling, in your face, and basically was the definition of pure evil. It’s unfortunate he dislikes the Harry Potter world because he seems to have had a good grasp on it while doing the scene. Voldemort was more human looking then I thought he would be but Fiennes made everything come together.

(The one part of the film that actually portrayed the message of book 4 was at the end when Hermione, with a smirk, declared, “everything’s going to change, isn’t it?” That is essentially was book 4 was all about. Hermione was more reacting to Viktor asking her to write him, but the phrase meant more. Book 4 was the beginning of the war, really, and the beginning of Harry’s future.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

By: Brendan

"Everything will change…." It was said in Prisoner of Azkaban, and certainly, everything has changed. Harry Potter newcomer Mike Newell directs this film with the British attitude and humor that the preceding three lack. By understanding and therefore being able to bring out the humor, he gave this movie, a particularly dark one in the Harry Potter setting, a bit of a sarcastic and witty bite, which really added to the film. The cinematography in this film really added to it as well. It pulled you in and made you feel like part of the movie. I shuddered from head to foot whenever the Dark Mark was shown or Voldemort mentioned – I reacted as someone in the Wizarding World would, because the cameras brought you into the world with them.

Daniel Radcliffe took my breath away in this installment. It seems as if his acting ability soared in the months between Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. I was particularly struck by his dialogue with Sirius when he confessed his fear and concern for his ability in the Triwizard Tournament. He effectively pulled me in and made me feel sympathetic for Harry’s helplessness in the whole situation.

Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were both fantastic in this movie. I was not pleased with Emma’s performance in Prisoner of Azkaban as I felt she played up the part of Hermione that isn’t as stuffy and studious as usual far too often considering we rarely see it in the books. This time around however, she really seemed to mix the two well. Rupert’s maddening reaction to Harry’s name coming out of the Goblet of Fire and the contrast he creates when he realizes it wasn’t Harry himself who put his name in was fantastic.

New roles could not have been cast any more accurately; Robert Pattinson, Miranda Richardson, Brendan Gleeson, and, in particular, Ralph Fiennes were all incredible assests to the movie. The casting was definitely part of what made this movie as fantastic as it was. Miranda and Brendan were both perfect for their parts as well. I was skeptical of Brendan as Mad-Eye however, he completely proved me wrong. All four aforementioned actors had me in awe of their acting skills, particularly Robert, Brendan, and Ralph. I have never had audible reactions to a Harry Potter movie before (with the exception of the start Professor Trelawney gave me when she made the prediction in Prisoner of Azkaban), and Ralph Fiennes provoked them with disgusting ease. His combination of a commanding leader, and a slimy serpent was just right and allowed for fantastic body movements that made me gasp. In my opinion, Voldemort pressing his finger to Harry’s scar, though incredibly painful to watch, was a fantastic little bit to add in to remind that although Harry is powerful, he is still inferior to Lord Voldemort. Robert Pattinson’s striking appearance and attitude was perfect for the role of Cedric. I was in a rather large emotional complex when Voldemort ordered his death. From the second Harry and Cedric agreed to take the Triwizard Cup together, I started crying and didn’t stop until the end of the movie. The image of Voldemort’s foot rather violently thrusting Cedric’s lifeless head back almost made me jump through the screen in rage and strangle Voldemort very painfully. I still could do without Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, however. I think his portayal of Dumbledore is too harsh and uncharacteristic. It’s an insult to the fantastic character JK Rowling created and that Richard Harris did such an amazing job bringing to life.

The Graveyard scene could not have been any truer to the book or closer to how I envisioned it while reading. Everything was exactly how I thought it would look, right down to the very last letter on the very last tombstone. It was amazing.

Everything that didn’t pertain directly to the Triwizard Tournament was cut, and while I would much prefer to sit through a seven hour movie that has everything in it, I think this was a good decision. It emphasized Cedric’s death in the sense that you weren’t distracted by subplots, and simultaneously enhanced the sensation of Lord Voldemort’s terror rising again and anticipation of what is to come. For those that are mad that so much was cut, I gave my advice to you when I got back from the midnight showing – The best thing any fan of both the Harry Potter Books and Movies can do at this point is to think of the books and movies as two seperate projects. The movies are BASED off the novels and for a 700-something page book, they did a fair job of editing it as we have arrived at the point where the novels are simply too long and complex to include a fraction of the plot.

The one let-down however was the soundtrack. As a performing musician, composer, conductor, and arranger, Patrick Doyle’s score lacked the radiance that Maestro John Williams’ had. From a musical standpoint, he used the strings far too often as a melody instrument and not enough woodwind/brass. Violins in the Harry Potter movies should really be kept as background to give that eeried feeling, like in “Hedwig’s Theme” from Sorcerer’s Stone where he gave them 32nd note runs in 3/8 time to counter the melody. The eeriness that was present in “Apparition on the Train” from Prisoner of Azkaban should definitely have made a HUGE appearance in this film’s score, and it wasn’t there. The music was well written, just not well suited to the film. I actually thought it took away from the film. I did however like how he twisted the theme from 3/8 time to 4/4 time, creating the different effect it had. It suited the movie because everything does change in this movie, but he never returned to the original theme, which should have been present in at least a subtle way. Tracks that I thought were well done were “The Quidditch World Cup”, “The Death of Cedric”, and “The Story Continues”. “Hogwarts’ Hymn” was nice as well, but I can’t listen to it without crying still.

Soundtrack aside, I could not have been happier with this movie. It gave the feel and effect that Goblet of Fire had and that I feared would lack in the film, and really showed off JK Rowling’s work in an incredible way. The best one yet!

Movie 4 Review

By: Chloey

I thought I'd start off by mentioning how much I loved this movie and how Newell and the screen writers did an amazing job of scrunching down such a huge book into a two and a half hour movie. Successfully. People often complain about what was left out of the movie, but they could not have everything in there for the sake of time. I know some people wouldn't mind watching a seven hour movie, but that's not the point. If they made the movie that long, this is what would happen: little kids would be screaming, yelling, and fidgeting for having to sit still so long, people's cell phones would be going off constantly, and all this would be very distracting and would thus make it hard for you to fully enjoy your movie.

I was thankful they didn't have S.P.E.W. in here, or all the Rita Skeeter drama. The former are nice in a book, but unnecessary in a movie since they are not vital to the plot. Rita Skeeter does have a role in the fifth book, but it can be modified since it isn't of great importance how Harry's story gets to The Quibbler, as long as it gets there.

My only complaint is Dumbledore. I am not a big fan of Michael Gambon, and I miss Richard Harris tremendously. Harris gave off the quiet and thoughtful vibe, where Gambon is a hippie. This is not only my mental image of how Dumbledore should be, but it's in the books. All of the Triwizard Champions and the Triwizard Tournament were amazing. The visual effects have only gotten better, and this was one of my main concerns. The first task was how it should be, and the minor changes to second didn't bother me at all. The third would have to be my favorite, even though they didn't have any spells or enchantments to go through (i.e. the sphinx).

The graveyard scene was amazing. Ralph Fiennes did a wonderful job. Voldemort looked positively evil. The nose was great, and the veins on his bald head had a very chilling effect. I must say that Daniel Radcliffe's crying was much better in this movie than in the third. Overall a great job on the Tournament.

I adored Neville in this movie. He is hardly seen in the first three movies, and I was glad to see more of him in GoF. The fact that he stayed out all night dancing with Ginny was too cute. I was also happy to see more of the Weasley twins in this movie. They are my favorite characters besides the trio, and they added in some comic relief ("Babbling, Bubbling, Band of baboons!" Five times fast.) My most memorable scene would have to be Filch running. Why I remember this, I do not know, but it is nonetheless entertaining. Also, Dumbledore talking about setting the curtains on fire was priceless. The end of the movie was too perfect because it focused on the trio, and that was important because of all the fights that had happened earlier in the movie. The fact that they had just been talking about how everything would change, and then seeing the three of them together gave you the feeling that through it all, they would stick together.

Finally, I would like to say that besides all of that, the best part would have to be how well the movie flowed. I never had a moment where I thought "What about..." Good job Mike Newell, cast, and crew.

Goblet of Fire Delivers in Every Way

By: Evan

I suppose I should begin this review by saying that there will be spoilers about the story/movie. So, if for some reason you have not read the book, by all means stop reading here. However, since you are on a Harry Potter fan site reading this, I doubt that is the case. Anyway, now that that is over, let’s move on to the review.

Let me get this out of the way right now. Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire is by far the best Harry Potter movie so far. It completely eclipses the previous three in every way imaginable. The acting is better, the music is better, the effects are better, and the over all direction of the film is better. If each Harry Potter film keeps increasing in quality by this magnitude with each new iteration, we could be looking at some absolutely stellar films to come. Take the amount of improvement from the second film to the third film, triple it, and that is how much better GoF is than PoA. It really is amazing.

The first thing you may notice about this film from the start is that it moves at a brisk pace. A very brisk pace. While that is completely understandable, (the book IS over 700 pages after all and the movie is 2 and half hours long) it is still slightly annoying. For instance, there is no Bertha Jorkins in this film. There is no S.P.E.W., and there is no mention of the Dursleys whatsoever. Veelas don’t exist, and the one thousand-galleon prize for winning the Triwizard Tournament (that will eventually go to Fred and George’s joke shop) is nonexistent as well. There are many more things missing out of the movie, but they really aren’t missed all that much. The film covers everything that absolutely has to be there, but it does lose some color and life that the extra details provide for the book. Strangely, some events from the book are out of order. But those events do make sense in the movie, and really don’t change anything, so who cares?

While there are quite a few things missing, this film succeeds in every other area. Seriously, the missing content is really the only flaw worth mentioning. The awkward scenes with questionable acting from the previous three films are pretty much taken care of. All three main characters have really started to hit their stride acting wise. There may be only one or two moments that are a little painful to watch compared to the countless of the previous films. Rupert Grint (Ron) especially has improved by leaps and bounds. There is not once in the movie where I thought he was just trying to act out Ron, it felt like he WAS Ron. Emma Watson (Hermione) continues to grow as an actress and plays her role of the stern and mature Hermione perfectly. She not only has grown as an actress, but she has grown up. No longer is she the ugly little frizz ball. She is a very attractive young woman now, which fits perfectly into the coming of age subplot of this film. Even Radcliffe, who I have always thought of as the least talented of the three, has shown remarkable improvement. He even has a crying scene at the end that is completely believable! Amazing!

The direction of this film is far superior to the last three as well. Mike Newell brings a new perspective to the Harry Potter films with extreme grandeur

permeating throughout the entire film. The Yule Ball is a good example of this. One would think that a dance in comparison to the main story would be a bit dull. On the contrary, the ball was one of my favorite scenes of the entire film. It shows a new side to all of the characters as they struggle through the awkwardness of a first dance. Not only that, but it really matures the Hermione character passed a bookworm into a more developed character that has multiple layers. Also, there is a lot more comedy in this iteration of the series than in the previous movies. Fred and George continue to deliver one liners, while the unlikely paring of Myrtle and Harry draw laughs as well.

I know all of you are wondering about the three tasks. I will just tell you that they deliver. It is a tad bit disappointing though that the second and third task were not as exciting for me as the first task. I literally had chills throughout the duration of the dragon task. It can’t quite say that is true for the second and third, but that does not mean they aren’t exciting, because they are. But they just don’t have the kind of heart pounding action or the sheer scale of the first.

Goblet of Fire is a great film. The scale and grandeur of the film continued to wow me throughout, while the acting and the characters kept me interested in the less action heavy parts of the film. The special effects are amazing, as is the musical score, which seems to play a larger role in this film than the previous versions. This film kept me transfixed from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to see how the next movie will improve on GoF.

Movie 4 Review

By: Catie

The new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire was superb. It was utterly amazing and brought the movies up to a new level. The movies combined humor, action, and suspense to make an unbelievable movie. With a movie that brought in over 39 million dollars, the movie brought it Harry Potter fans and people that just wanted to see a wonderful movie. Even though the movie was superb, it wasn't perfect. I believed that the beginning was too fast. The beginning whipped through without giving the viewer time to comprehend. Michael Gambon, in my opinion, brought the part of Albus Dumbledore to shame. Gambon is a wonderful actor for an action movie, and only a movie that has not stop action. The role of Dumbledore requires the actor to be calm at parts, yet become serious and energetic at certain other parts. Michael Gambon was not calm. He yelled and shook Harry after his name was drawn from the goblet. Dumbledore, in the books, was relaxed and believed Harry without a doubt. The actress that played Rita Skitter, however, was wonderful and fit the role of her. Her outfits changed based on the scene and events happening there. There couldn't have been a better actress for the role. I have to say, that I loved the humor in this movie. It combined humor that the others did not have. When Alastor Moody turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret, it brought tears to my eyes by laughing so hard. However, asking and talking to people unconsumed into the complex of Harry Potter, found the movie at times to be confusing. They did not understand some parts due to lack of knowledge. The movie should have explained more for the people who do not know every detail of our universe. I believe after taking in all the facts and my opinions that they made a wonderful movie. They made a wonderful movie, if you do not compare them to the books. Everyone, Harry Potter fan or not, should see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; it is a worthy movie to see.

Entertainment Weekly early review:

We begin with a SPOILER ALERT, because even though it seems everyone in the world has bought a Harry Potter book, it would be rude to assume that everyone has read all of them and therefore may not want to know that in Warner Bros.' adaptation of J.K. Rowling's fourth novel, the teenage mage grows an unfashionably large handlebar mustache. Okay, that doesn't happen. But what can we say about Goblet of Fire? ''Well...I do a lot more running around than I did in the last one,'' says Michael Gambon, back again as dear old Professor Dumbledore.

Actually, everyone is running around a lot more than they did in Prisoner of Azkaban. Practically double the size of any Potter tome before it, and certainly more action packed, Fire chronicles Harry's participation in a wizarding tournament — while he's simultaneously unraveling a sinister conspiracy, discovering girls, and dodging creepy glances from a spooky new teacher named ''Mad-Eye'' Moody (Brendan Gleeson). It's so epic, the studio considered splitting the story between two films. But Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón, who took a more freewheeling adaptation approach, persuaded them to reconsider, even at the expense of cutting content. ''He taught us you could really depart from the book in many ways,'' says producer David Heyman. ''Alfonso always felt the ideas in Fire could only support one movie. The studio agreed.''