Rushed and ridiculous

Rating: 6/10 (6 June 2014)

I am not a big fan of the HP film adaptations. My problem is not so much that they cut a lot of material from the books or that they change things, it's that they fall into two categories: either they're slow-moving and preoccupied with every little detail from the books to the point of tedium (the first two films) or they go through the story so fast that those who have not read the books have no clue what is what and what is going on. Goblet of Fire falls into the latter category. It rushes over so much of the book, explains big concepts at mach speed, and refuses to spend time on character moments to help us connect to the heroes better.
It's also totally over-the-top, almost impossible to take seriously. I know many who adore Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, but for me, he goes so overboard that he comes across as goofy. In the books, Voldemort is mostly soft-spoken, quietly menacing. Here, he has all the subtlety of a mustachioed villain out of second-rate Victorian melodrama. Michael Gambon's Dumbledore has silly moments too, like when he near throttles Harry, screaming, "Didjya put your name in the Goblet of Fire!!?" So out of character... Then the chase with the dragon was ridiculous, obviously there to show off the CG effects, which have not dated that well. And don't get me started on the scene where the Durmstrang students start doing acrobatics in the Great Hall. The fellow doing the effects on that gem of a scene must have had a field day with the blur tool, which just makes it cheesier.
At least Daniel Radcliffe's acting improved in this film; even his weakest moments are not as laughable as the "HE WAS THEIR FRIEND" bit in The Prisoner of Azkaban. The music was melancholy and dark, as it should be. GoF is the turning point of the series, where the HP stories become less child-friendly and more of a Young Adult series dealing with social oppression, death, and loss.
Overall, this is not a strong movie, even on its own terms. It's too rushed and silly to be comprehensible or taken seriously.