Harry Potter's star fades slightly

Rating: 7/10 (20 November 2005)

With Goblet of Fire, being my favourite book of the series, I had been waiting anxiously, perhaps a little too impatiently, for the release of this film.
GoF, was the first of Rowlings novels to reach an epic length, as Harry, Ron and Hermione witness glory and destruction at the Quidditch World Cup Final, battle through the dangerous tasks of the Tri-Wizard Tornammment, and face the harsh and tragic realities of Lord Voldermort's ultimate return and the re-awakening of the Death-Eaters.
With such source material I was anticipating a likewise epic movie, yet I cannot help but feel that for the first time a Harry Potter movie has failed to live up to expectations, as its adaption from page to film is poor to say the least.
I think the people in the Harry Potter camp have made a serious error in believing they can successfully adapt a book of such size and content into a two and a half hour movie. Big screen adaptations of other world renowned novels such as Lord of the Rings, and Gone with the Wind, have all benefited from extended run times and I see no reason why the Harry Potter movies should be an exception. It's still over 150 minutes long, but in my opinion, to have given true justice to the plot and the characters, another hour was needed....at least. By overlooking this they have not given the movie the scope and depth it deserved and anyone who has read the book, will probably find this film, patchy and disjointed.
For instance, why show scenes of the Quidditch World Cup and not have any footage of the actual match? The chapters covering the event in the original book, were exciting and dramatic, yet Mike Newell and his team, have completely ignored them, opting instead to only feature the the opening ceremony as to serve as an introduction to fellow Tri-Wizard champion Viktor Krum. However when Krum's character is given so little screen time or development for the remainder of the film the scene becomes redundant and pointless in hindsight.
Even five minutes of match play would have been welcome, especially focusing on 'The Wronski Feint' a daring Quidditch manoeuvre performed by Krum, which Harry could then have used later in the film in the dramatic aerial chase with the Dragon.
Also the Tri-Wizard Tornament itself failed to thrill on the screen as much as it did in the book, especially the third, final and supposedly most dangerous task, where the four champions are sent into a deadly maze full of obstacles and creatures, to find the much coveted prize of the Tri-Wizard Cup itself. These scenes were empty and shameful, as Harry didn't come across one obstacle or test, one Boggart or monster. Apart from saving a fellow contestant, he just seemed to just walk in and find the Cup with minimal effort.
Also missing were several supporting characters from the original book like the two house elves Dobby and Winky, Ludo Bagman a former England International Quidditch Player who now earns a living in the Magical Games and Sports Department at the Ministry of Magic, and most notably The Dursley's, who are not even given a mention. There is also no mention of Hermiones new pet project, S.P.E.W. which in the book lends itself to some comic and exciting confrontations between her and Ron, confrontations which would have transferred to the screen well, adding further and much needed depth to their love/hate relationship.
Unfortunately, after giving Sir Micheal Gambon benefit of the doubt in Prisoner of Azkaban purely because he wasn't given a great amount of screen time, I feel Goblet of Fire does nothing to warm me to his portrayal of Dumbledore. In Gambon's Dumbledore, we see nothing to make us believe he is a truly great all-powerful wizard. We cannot take seriously that he is the only one Lord Voldermort ever feared. Gambon's Dumbledore, loses his temper, he shakes small boys in fits of frenzied anxiety, he seems befuddled and confused at almost every turn. All these traits were not apparent in Richard Harris' portrayal, and in the first two movies, Dumbledore gives of a truly powerful glow, the embodiment of great courage, strength and intelligence and a rational calm and ready wit, despite the dangers and perils he faced. Gambon needs to adopt these qualities for the remaining movies if he is to convince Potterites that he is the greatest wizard that ever lived.
One of the redeeming scenes however, is the graveyard scene. This film is exactly as I pictured it in my mind while reading, and Ralph Fiennes turns in a wonderful film stealing performance as the newly reborn snake-like Voldermort. It was the climax of the book and a scene that could not be cut, edited or glanced over no matter how hard they tried. In fact its the only part of the original book, which seems to have remained unchanged, and appears almost word for word on the screen as it did on the page.
Although it looks like I have out and out panned this film, I feel it fair to say that despite the inaccuracies and poor adaptation, it is not without excitement, and it is still very entertaining. The performances are excellent and although they could have done so much more, it still stands up a pretty good movie, although undoubtedly the weakest of the series thus far.