Goblet of Fire Review:
Okay, now I feel like I’ve had a few days to digest the movie and I can talk about it objectively. I’d warn you that there are spoilers ahead, but if you haven’t seen it and you haven’t read the book, what the heck are you doing reading this anyway?As with Pride & Prejudice, I steeled myself beforehand with the knowledge that they were going to have to cut out LOADS to get the story down to a reasonable length. For the most part, I think the GoF writer did a good job. The house elves and SPEW were never integral to the story, and neither was the whole “Will Vernon Dursley let Harry go to the World Cup?” thing at the beginning. The pace was a bit breathless though. At times I felt like I was watching the trailer for a much longer film. “They’re at the World Cup… Now they’re at school… and two seconds later the Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs are arriving!” A little breathing space might have been nice.
Things I really wish hadn’t been left out: The bit about how Barty Crouch helped break his son out of Azkaban. I liked that he was complicit; it makes his death seem less “Awww, sad!” and more “Fair comeuppance for a right bastard.” I wish that Barty Jr. hadn’t been visible as the “baddie” from the very beginning; there was very little suspense about who Voldemort’s “true faithful servant” was like there was in the book. I wish we’d gotten to see Molly Weasley, if only for a moment. I wish they’d left in *some* of the stuff about Fred and George starting their joke business, if only because it’s going to seem pretty sudden in the next one when they quit school to do it. (Not to mention the fact that in the book, their suspicious behavior provides a lot of plot misdirection.) I wish there’d been some mention of Moody before we saw him, just so it wasn’t immediately obvious that he was involved in the plot. (And hello? That whole snakey tongue gimmick? Way, way too obvious.) Mostly I just wish they’d explained some things a little bit more. Dumbledore just jumped right over the whole “Priori Incantatum” thing. (I had to wonder what the two non-Potterphiles watching it with me thought during that graveyard scene.) And as someone else said, why didn’t we get to hear about how the other contestants got past the dragon? Fleur seemed to suck so bad at the other tasks that it would have been nice to know the sole girl Champion wasn’t completely useless.
Things I LOVED that they put in: The ferret scene (of course). Neville practicing his dancing. The Wyrd Sisters playing and the kids all rocking out. The bit where Fred (or maybe George) asks Angelina to the ball. The fight between Ron and Harry (though the movie makes it out to be more about Harry not sharing with Ron his “plan” to put his name in, rather than Ron’s huge jealousy issues about his friend being famous and rich.) Seeing Ron after he asked Fleur to the Ball. Daniel Radcliffe shirtless. (Yes, I’m going to hell. The Snook was trying to cover my eyes at that point.)
To be honest, these are all little things. Overall I enjoyed myself… right up until the ending. Where in the hell did the happy come from? Cedric’s dead, Voldemort’s back, the government is covering it up, Harry is pissed off and angry… yet somehow they show us a bunch of kids cheering and waving goodbye and somehow that’s supposed to mitigate everything? It seemed very forced and out-of-left field. The Empire Strikes Back ends on a down note, and this movie should have too.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my sister is married to Viktor Krum. That is all.
11 responses
Oh wait. I forgot my one other big complaint. I HATE what they’ve done with Dumbledore in this movie. He’s all human and fallible and confused and grasping and… just not what I imagine at all.
And since when does Dumbledore totally lose his cool and violently shake Harry? What the…?
I pretty much agree with what you’ve said, particularly about the things they left out but should have found room for. I didn’t really care about the dragon task, although I also didn’t like that the only girl contestant was made out to be totally incompetent.
Oh, and the maze being a place that “changes people”? I suppose the scenario in the book would have required too many pesky special effects.
Yeah. Bring on the blast-ended Skrewts! 🙂
Don’t worry, I’ll be right there in hell with you. We’ll bring lots of knitting. It’ll be fun.
I thought they did a great job, but i hated that Mrs Weasley was omitted. My favourite scene in the book was when Harry got to feel the touch of a ‘mother’ for the first time in his life. But what I liked about the film was that they actually made Cedric Diggory more tangible to me. I was always sad in the book when he died, but seeing him as a living, breathing ‘real’ character left me devestated when you saw him lying lifeless and open-eyed.
Erk… I actually put a spoiler tag in there but i lost it somewhere. Sorry! But, really, you have no one to blame but yourself if you were reading it that far and had never read the book by now.
oh yeah, I almost forgot about the harry/ron fight – that was one of those things (like all the various love interests) that seemed to exist for the fans – it clearly wasn’t aimed at me (non-fan) as I didn’t understand it at all. Oh, and I had no idea that Ron was related to the Fred and George characters – they just seemed comic relief to me. And, yeah I was also wondering how everyone else handled the dragons. The missing dragon fights and the happy ending are my only complaints – the interpersonal relationship stuff was all glossed over, I didn’t get it and don’t think I was meant to. But I did get that everyone shouldn’t be all ‘have a great summer – don’t forget to write!’ at the end.
but I did like it – best HP film so far.
Out of respect, I shant diss(dis?) Hermione, but here are the things that shat me(even though I said I wouldn’t be cynical)
* The whole “where are we going?” thing at the quidditch cup. Derr.
* I’m with you on the pace thing. Whoa. Although some bits did seem to drag, like the dragon scene, which seemed stupid and OMGCGI-esque, which just leaves me wondering “How long will it be until we look back at cgi in 2005 and laugh?”.
* Sirius’ head in the fire was creepy. I imagined the head would stick out of the fire, either as a real head(ie. you’re just sending your head through the floo) or you’d appear in the smoke or something.
* The dancing entrances and the school band directed by Flitwick who’s hair had totally changed colour in the past two movies, left me thinking “What is in the american versions of these books that we’re missing out on?”
* There are probably more, but I’m planning on seeing it again(mwhahaha).
Goodness:
* The knitwear porn and Ginny Weasley’s fashions were ace. Did you see her fluffy boots and rad stockings? I always imagined she would have great clothes.
* Lotsa Snape action, ooohyeah.
* Lotsa McGonagall action ♥
* Snapes potions storeroom.
* Rita Skeeter was adorable.
This is degenerating rapidly. All in all, I really enjoyed the film(and that a stupid boy thought that you and I were high school students! GO US!) and I think I will see it again, at an indie cheapo cinema, of course, which is more than I can say for the last.
What, you didn’t get that they all had red hair, Rob? 🙂
I second the approval of Ginny’s fashion sense. Very groovy. It’s going to be interesting watching the actress try to take her from scared little girl to very cool and popular chick worth of Harry…