Best of the HP movies so far

Rating: 8/10 (21 November 2005)

The Goblet of Fire was the worst of the Harry Potter books but it has been made into the Best of the Harry Potter movies by a large margin. Maybe the simplicity of the underlying story in the book (despite the book's inordinate length) has made the transition to screen easier.
The movie has an excellent balance of special effects and character development. For the first time Daniel Radcliffe actually shows he can act the part and the other characters are all on the right notes both teen and adult alike (Mad-eye Moody and Rita Skeeter are perfect).
This is the only one of the HP movies that I would be happy to see again. HP 3 (Prisoner of Azkaban) did have the right tone (particularly with Lupin and the Dementors) but Radcliffe still couldn't act and the difficult final scene was far from satisfying. HP 2 (Chamber of Secrets) was a loud mess of special effects that had me and my kids fidgeting with boredom with about 30 minutes still to go (although Dobby was well done and Kenneth Branagh was good as Gilderoy Lockhart). HP 1 (Sorcerer's Stone) got some things seriously wrong in addition to Radcliffe's weak acting, most noticeably a lack of whimsy and a far too sinister take on Harry's first encounters with wizarding at Hogwarts; John Williams soundtrack was particular inappropriate and overblown in those scenes. Richard Harris seemed far too weak as Dumbledore, too, even in HP 1. (Maybe it was his health.) I have much preferred Michael Gambon who projects more of the strength of the character although I did find his consonants a little non-British and almost Americanized in HP 4. (Is it his Irish origins showing?)