Not Bad, Azkaban was better...

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2005)

I could not wait to see this movie. Not only am I a big fan of the books but I am also a big lover of film (which I earned a degree in). Goblet of Fire was by far one of my favorite books of the saga, so I was indeed looking forward to seeing how and if a new director could capture the feel and setting of this book.
I am sad to say I was a bit disappointed. Now with being a student of film I understand that with adaptation of books to film, that a lot is almost always left out. However, I have also learned that if done right the film version can still retain the feel and the integrity of the story that it is based off of. Cuaron was able to do this very well with "Azkaban" capturing the dark and uneasiness and even sometimes comedic elements of the book, while still leaving a lot out. Unfortunately for Newell, he did have his work cut out for him. I mean "Goblet of Fire" is a 700+ page book, and there is a lot of story to show and cut. The screenplay just didn't seem to flow, jumping from one thing to the other. Not only that, he changed many things from the book that wouldn't have been hard to shoot like they were originally written.
I'm not a director by any means, but something about this adaptation just didn't feel right. For the fact that I was able to see the three tasks come to life, and that the graveyard scene was well done, I give this film 6 out of 10. It is an entertaining movie for the average movie goer, but if you are any kind of a fan of Rowling's writing, I suspect you will feel a bit let down. I salute Newell for giving it a shot, but I think it could've been done better.