Thrill ride

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2005)

Of the first 3 movies, I liked Harry Potter and the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone the best because it came closest to expectations. Goblet of Fire is by far by favorite book in the series, so I had high hopes for this movie long before I saw any of the other movies. This movie is brief and brisk at 254 minutes. Thats right, it is a very fast 254 minutes and you don't want the movie to end when it does.
Yes, there is no Dursley family, Winky or Dobby a mild disappointment. I am upset that there is no Mrs. Weasley more than anything. Even if she had only one line, calling Ronald to breakfast or having her fuss over Harry would have been better than cutting her out completely.
Speaking of disappointments, while keeping the movie brief, there is no Quidditch action in this movie, it is mentioned that Krum is the best seeker in the world yet we don't see him in action. There could have been at least 60 to 120 seconds of Quidditch action showing us just how good Krum is.
The acting is superb in this film, the trio have improved greatly since the last movie. Mad Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) is wickedly funny and the screen lights up as you sit up to watch what he does next. Rita Skeeter (Miranda Richardson) is just dreadfully delightful as the reporter you love to hate.
The debate over who is the better Dumbledore is about to heat up once again. Now that both have two full movies, I think it is now fair to compare the two.
Michael Gambon as Dumbledore is my personal choice; in this movie I wasn't missing Richard Harris as Dumbledore like I was in POA. Gambon will win over some of the Harris fans. Not all of them but some of them.
What can I say about Maggie Smith,Alan Rickman or Robbie Coltrane? I wanted to see them more but there weren't any other scenes to put them in. When they were on the screen they all did a superb job. There were myriads of outstanding perfermances both big and small parts.
Love was in the air in this movie but it also felt a little out of place because there was no way to really work the love scenes in this movie.
The number 1 reason I wanted to see this movie after reading the book was Harry and the dragon. The scene didn't disappoint, it kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time. In fact the three tasks were outstanding to watch and worth the price of admission.
The rebirth of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is creepy to look at. The graveyard fight scene between Harry and Lord Voldemort is too brief to be a climatic battle for a movie of this scale.I feared the dragon more than I feared Voldemort.
This is the first time Harry and Lord Voldemort meet after that fateful night 13 years ago. Voldemort has had 13 years to plot his revenge on Harry Potter, Voldemort now has a body and Harry standing in front of him.
Voldemort should be out to prove that he can best Harry in front of the Death Eaters who are present at this confrontation but LV comes off looking weak and pathetic, he can't best a 14 year old fourth year student. LV knocks Harry off of his feet but nothing else. The Imperius curse on Harry for 60 seconds or so would have been wonderful to help show us the true sadistic power of Voldemort and why he is so feared by so many wizards.
To say I liked the movie is an understatement. I do hope there is a directors cut of this movie. This is my favorite movie of the four so far. I can only hope Mike Newell is brought back to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix after the job he has done with GOF.