Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[rusty_halo]

So, I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. IMAX good. Movie... not so good. Alfonso Cuaron, come back!!

Okay, it wasn't a terrible movie. I'd probably give it a 6.5 out of 10. But Prisoner of Azkaban got a 9. (Whereas I'd give the first two films a 1.5 and 2, respectively.)

Anyway. Basically, it felt like a highlights reel, strung together with no real connections, whereas Cuaron's film flowed, gave you an opportunity to think and feel and sink into the film. This one just slapped you with one plot point after another.

I liked the kid who played Cedric, and thought they did his death quite well. They didn't sugarcoat it, which is good. I also liked Ralph Fiennes' Voldemort (though the lack of nose was distracting). But even Fiennes' scenes seemed rushed, like Voldemort was always kind of panicked and in a hurry. I'd always imagined Voldemort as the kind of villain who takes his sweet time, enjoying the power he has to make everyone wait, subservient, for whatever he'll say or do next.

The film lacked subtext. It was basically just a growing up movie about kids, and lost all the political levels of the anti-Muggle prejudice (we never saw the Death Eaters tormenting Muggles, just wreaking havoc in general), anti-Muggle-born prejudice (you'd never have known Hermione was Muggle-born), or the layers provided by the House Elf issues. That was sad.

Also, no Bellatrix, very little Sirius, and they totally ruined the Crouch Jr. bit by making him clearly a villain from the start, instead of making you feel sorry for him and then surprising you with his guilt.

Also, the dragon scenes went forever (couldn't they have cut that and snuck in some extra Sirius??), the pacing was all weird (who else was totally thrown by all the Quiddich Cup build-up that was followed by nothing?), the hedge maze was the least intimidating thing ever (I'm sorry, but shrubbery is just not scary), and the Moaning Myrtle scene got pointlessly creepy. Oh, and how sexist was it that the one girl in the contest was the complete wuss who was incapable of succeeding at anything except looking cute and needing to be rescued? And Michael Gambon's Dumbledore--just, not Dumbledore at all. WTF was that? Oh yeah, and the fact that exchange students entered Hogwarts by doing stupid performances--are you kidding? Utter caricatures--way to kill the "real kids" aspect that Cuaron created so beautifully.

On the other hand, I really loved that Neville had a chance to shine in this movie, and Fred and George were awesome. I also agreed with jaydk that the scene where the kids gossip about asking girls out (and Fred asks Angelina out) while Snape lurks over them was probably the funniest scene in the entire Harry Potter series. And the three kids really are growing up to be quite adequate actors (for their ages).

So, it had its good moments. But, alas, I won't be seeing this one eight times in the theater.

Comments

[elizard100.livejournal.com]

I understand that at one point it was suggested that they cut the book in half and make two movies out of it since there was so much but they figured out how to cram it all into one. This is a shame since I agree that so much was sacrificed that would have been enjoyable to see. As well, unless you've read the book, there would be much that would be confusing I think or not fully appreciated. Hasn't hurt the box office take though. ;-)

[vamprayne.livejournal.com]

I would've been so much better as two movies...

I hadn't re read the book beforehand (i usually do) and felt quite lost. It kinda felt, to me, like a bunch of spoiler clips strung together and then gone AU.

I'm glad I'm not the only one disappointed.

[jerrymcl89.livejournal.com]

I just saw this, and found your review interesting, because I, as a non-reader of the books, found this one vastly superior to "Prisoner of Azkaban". It's obviously a challenge to condense a 900-or-so page book into a two-hour-and-change movie, and I can see how all the subtleties you mention got lost. But in the last movie, I found myself constantly watching scenes and knowing that the things that would have made sense of them had gotten left out, and that didn't happen this time.

[listener-m.livejournal.com]

I didn't mind pervy Myrtle - I thought Harry looked remarkably pretty without his shirt, and appreciated having someone onscreen being more innappropriate than me . And I didn't have a problem with Gambon's Dumbledore, or with the exchange students' entrances. But I agree with you on everything else. Fleur was very very lame. And the ending was too rushed.