Paladin
11-19-2005, 08:35 PM
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Robbie Coltraine, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, and Michael Gambon. Directed by Mike Newell
This review contains minor plot spoilers.
Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts marks the midpoint of the series, and for many fans, the best of the books. Goblet of Fire, if you haven't read it, is a cinderblock of a book...more than 750 pages. That makes it close to the size of the first two books combined. There's a lot that happens in that book, and it took some major paring to get it to fit into a 2 hour and 40 minute movie.
The Quidditch World Cup opens the movie, with Harry and the Wesleys, Cedric Digory and his father traveling to the final match. Outside the arena is a huge gathering of fans from the magical community, looking much like the crowd at Woodstock.
The movie gets going at Hogwarts, which has been selected to host the Tri Wizard Tournament, something of a wizarding triatholon, for the best student of each wizarding school in Europe. Representing Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory. For Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour, and for Durmstrang...Viktor Krum. THey are picked by the Goblet of Fire, from students who submitted their names. And the, completely against the rules, the cup spits out a fourth name. You guessed it, Harry Potter. After a little discussion, since the written rules only allow 3 participants and Harry is 2 years to young to compete, it's ruled that the Cup supercedes the rules and Harry not only can compete, he must!
Also new to the series in this episode is Alastar "Mad Eye" Moody as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (and resident drunk) and Rita Skeeter, the gossip columnist for the Daily Prophet whose pen makes up the story as it goes along.
The movie moves at a pretty brisk pace. There isn't much time given to the classroom this year, no house vs. house Quidditch matches and the big party this year is the Yule Ball. The Yule Ball is a dance to commemorate the Tri-Wizard tournament (whose events span the whole school year). While all this is going on, the Death Eaters (the wizards who supported Voldemort during his first rise to power) seem to lay low after their appearance at the Quidditch cup. But, Harry's having nightmares where he sees Voldemort alive.
Much of the movie deals with the relationships of the three main kids: Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ginny plays a bigger role as well, as does Neville Longbottom. Moody takes Harry under his wing, helping to prepare him for the trials of the Tri Wizard Tournement as well, and seems determined to teach the kids some real defenses against the dark arts. Most of the teachers have greatly reduced roles, and thankfully, the Malfoy's get very little screen time.
The movie is as visually stunning as the first three, although the school and everything else takes on a much darker look, befitting the story. Hogwarts does not feel like the happy, homey place it did in the first two movies. It's colder, darker, and much more sinister feeling...although the kids don't seem to notice. It adds to the feeling of dread as the movie moves along.
So, is it any good? Yes. Very much so. But the kids are older, and not as cute. They have attitudes, and hormones, and there's a definite change interplay between them. This movie also is darker in terms of plot and action. It earns it's PG-13 with some significant violence and some people die. It's also paced alot like a Star Wars film, with 3 major action sequences, with some downtime between them for interaction and character development. This makes it feel like the director was connecting the dots, rather than making the story unfold. Where The Chamber of Secrets slowly unfolded a real mystery, this one relies on a single huge plot twist near the end to explain everything.
It's definitely worth seeing, but unlike the book, the movie version is not the best of the series.
On the smiley scale (1=low 4=high):
Fun: :bg: :bg: :bg:
Thrills: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Comedy: :lol: :lol:
Brain Candy Factor: :jester: :jester: :jester:
This review contains minor plot spoilers.
Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts marks the midpoint of the series, and for many fans, the best of the books. Goblet of Fire, if you haven't read it, is a cinderblock of a book...more than 750 pages. That makes it close to the size of the first two books combined. There's a lot that happens in that book, and it took some major paring to get it to fit into a 2 hour and 40 minute movie.
The Quidditch World Cup opens the movie, with Harry and the Wesleys, Cedric Digory and his father traveling to the final match. Outside the arena is a huge gathering of fans from the magical community, looking much like the crowd at Woodstock.
The movie gets going at Hogwarts, which has been selected to host the Tri Wizard Tournament, something of a wizarding triatholon, for the best student of each wizarding school in Europe. Representing Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory. For Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour, and for Durmstrang...Viktor Krum. THey are picked by the Goblet of Fire, from students who submitted their names. And the, completely against the rules, the cup spits out a fourth name. You guessed it, Harry Potter. After a little discussion, since the written rules only allow 3 participants and Harry is 2 years to young to compete, it's ruled that the Cup supercedes the rules and Harry not only can compete, he must!
Also new to the series in this episode is Alastar "Mad Eye" Moody as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (and resident drunk) and Rita Skeeter, the gossip columnist for the Daily Prophet whose pen makes up the story as it goes along.
The movie moves at a pretty brisk pace. There isn't much time given to the classroom this year, no house vs. house Quidditch matches and the big party this year is the Yule Ball. The Yule Ball is a dance to commemorate the Tri-Wizard tournament (whose events span the whole school year). While all this is going on, the Death Eaters (the wizards who supported Voldemort during his first rise to power) seem to lay low after their appearance at the Quidditch cup. But, Harry's having nightmares where he sees Voldemort alive.
Much of the movie deals with the relationships of the three main kids: Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ginny plays a bigger role as well, as does Neville Longbottom. Moody takes Harry under his wing, helping to prepare him for the trials of the Tri Wizard Tournement as well, and seems determined to teach the kids some real defenses against the dark arts. Most of the teachers have greatly reduced roles, and thankfully, the Malfoy's get very little screen time.
The movie is as visually stunning as the first three, although the school and everything else takes on a much darker look, befitting the story. Hogwarts does not feel like the happy, homey place it did in the first two movies. It's colder, darker, and much more sinister feeling...although the kids don't seem to notice. It adds to the feeling of dread as the movie moves along.
So, is it any good? Yes. Very much so. But the kids are older, and not as cute. They have attitudes, and hormones, and there's a definite change interplay between them. This movie also is darker in terms of plot and action. It earns it's PG-13 with some significant violence and some people die. It's also paced alot like a Star Wars film, with 3 major action sequences, with some downtime between them for interaction and character development. This makes it feel like the director was connecting the dots, rather than making the story unfold. Where The Chamber of Secrets slowly unfolded a real mystery, this one relies on a single huge plot twist near the end to explain everything.
It's definitely worth seeing, but unlike the book, the movie version is not the best of the series.
On the smiley scale (1=low 4=high):
Fun: :bg: :bg: :bg:
Thrills: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Comedy: :lol: :lol:
Brain Candy Factor: :jester: :jester: :jester: