Don't even blink...

Rating: 6/10 (18 November 2005)

Or else you might miss half the plot. The newest installment of the Harry Potter series moves at such lightening speed that the audience hardly settles into one mind-blowing, spectacular, special effects-laden scene before it whisks you away to the next. It seems that director Mike Newell was going for quantity over quality, trying to fit as much of the book into the film as possible, but never slowing down enough to give the audience a chance to feel the tone of the movie or read into the depth of the characters. Granted Newell was facing a challenge from the beginning with J.K. Rowling's fourth Harry Potter book weighing in at some 734 pages; however, he barely took advantage of the book's exquisite detail when making this film. The budding romantic tendencies of the adolescents were of course portrayed thoroughly on screen, but deeper relationships, such as the growing paternal bond between Sirius Black and Harry, were merely glossed over. Also, viewers who have never actually read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will probably be stumped over the mechanics of Barty Crouch Jr.'s kidnap and impersonation of Mad Eye Moody. Adequate explanation of this key plot element is sorely lacking.
As it turns out, shallow, fast-paced film-making is only part of the film's disappointment. True Harry Potter fans will most likely be affronted by Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore, as well as the depiction of the final Tri-Wizard task. What ever happened to Richard Harris' Dumbledore: the quirky, powerful wizard with genius intellect? Michael Gambon has replaced him with someone seemingly rash, hot-tempered, and quite a bit less insightful. Comparing the two, the latter is not only unrealistic when compared to the first two films, but untrue to J.K. Rowling's character. And concerning the third task, I don't even know where to begin. Mike Newell must have been feeling lackluster when he decided to scrap every single obstacle the Champions face in the maze and replace them with the walls of the maze itself being the antagonist; nearly squashing the champions in a whirlwind of vines and brush. Very disappointing indeed.
The one show-stopping scene of the film was of course the rebirth of Lord Voldemort, due mostly to the outstanding acting abilities of Ralph Fiennes. Not only are his prosthetics so creepy as to make your skin crawl, but he ushers in this scene with stunningly commanding screen presence. When the movie was over, I was actually sad I didn't get to see more of Lord Voldemort. However, like the rest of the film, this scene was unforgivably rushed. Given the opportunity, I have no doubt that Fiennes could have explored Voldemort's subtle cruelty and overwhelming power more thoroughly in his interactions with not only Harry, but his Death Eaters as well.
Overall, there is something missing from Newell's adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Although it is an exciting film, taking us from one heart-pounding adventure to the next, in a word it lacks subtlety. The audience hardly has a chance to delve into the characters beyond what is skin-deep. And while there are some brilliant moments (Lord Voldemort's rebirth and Rita Skeeter's journalistic antics are two of them) on the whole Mike Newell takes us on a whirlwind tour of the book, but never stops to let us get acquainted with the finer details of plot, tone or characters.