Not my favorite of the HP movies, but enjoyable nonetheless

Rating: 10/10 (31 July 2006)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not my favorite of the Harry Potter movies, but it is very good nonetheless.
It's fun to see how Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have grown as actors since the first film. Not to say that they were bad when they were younger, but they are far better in this film, than in any of the others. Emma Watson's performance in particular was very good, and I at least think that she is the best actor of the 3 of them. I loved Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody. He was perfect! Insane and totally wacko, I loved his performance. Another performance I loved was Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. Brilliant! He definitely captured the essence of the character. I did have problem with Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory. Granted, he looks the part, but he doesn't act it  at least not as I envisioned the character while reading the book. The only major character disappointment was the lack of Sirius Black. I really wish that he had been included more, but oh well.
The Goblet of Fire is stunningly shot. Definitely deserved the nomination for Best Achievement in Art Direction at the Oscars.
My biggest problem with The Goblet of Fire I blame entirely on Mike Newell. Perhaps I am wrong to lay the blame on him and instead it should be laid upon the producers, so correct me if I'm wrong. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire runs at 157 minutes. Longer than most films, but shorter than some. In their effort to keep the movie going at a snappy pace, the filmmakers have neglected all transitions except for the snappy cut. This is a huge irritance. You're watching the beginning of the movie and you think, "Cool! They're at the Quidditch Cup! Oh! The Cup is over. Oh! Now they're at Hogwarts." There's nothing to tell you that anytime has passed. I think that the audience would sacrifice a few seconds of their time for a well placed dissolve/fade out or two. Another place where they may have moved things to quickly is in the Graveyard. It's absolutely crucial to not only the plot of this movie, but the plots of all the Harry Potter movies to come, and I feel that it could have been lengthened a fair amount. The Yule Ball isn't incredibly important for the plot, but it takes up a fair space of time in the movie. Though beautifully shot, I believe they could have axed a large amount of that off and used that time in the Graveyard instead. And my last problem is just something that as a huge Harry Potter fan, I really wanted to see on film, the Quidditch World Cup. I think that would have been a ton of fun to watch, but it too was axed from the plot. Again, I would have given up most of the Yule Ball even for a small amount of the Quidditch Cup.
I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Though not my favorite of the Harry Potter movies, I thought that the acting was the best yet, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 9/10