"Goblet" Burns Away Good Plot

Rating: Null/10 (28 November 2005)

I finished the book "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" for the first time a few days before seeing the movie and, frankly, I was extremely disappointed. I understand that somethings have to be omitted or altered to adapt a book to a movie. My complaint is that this movie handled things so poorly. I liked "Prisoner of Azkaban" because it was a story that didn't require reading the books and watching the movies that came before it to understand the story.
The story in "Goblet" is alternately blocky and too fast-paced. I don't recall any slow scenes for characters (or the audience) to soak in what's been going on or to mentally chew on the plot. Setting is not properly established for the first 20 minutes or so of the film. Flashing a picture of a train and a castle does not lead the brain to conclude that our main characters are taking a train to a castle where they go to school.
The relationships of the characters to each other also is never fully explained, something all the films fail to do. If I hadn't read the books, for example, I would never know that Ron, the twins, and Ginny are all siblings. Ginny, in "Goblet", appears to be nothing more than a girlfriend to Hermionie. As Harry says about girls, "they travel in packs." Why is Ron jealous of Harry's newfound fame? You'll never know if you only watch the movie. Why can't he afford the treats on the train ride to the castle? Why does he have to wear those hideous dress robes? You'll never know from the movie. Here's where a line or two of explanation would be worth more than a thousand galleons of prize money.
I was looking forward to seeing Harry practice the Accio charm before the first task... but all we get is Harry awkwardly saying the incantation when facing the dragon . . . no build-up whatsoever. New information really shouldn't be presented in a story the very first time it is vital to the plot. With no explanation of what he was doing a casual audience member might not know what the heck was going on! I really dislike vital bits of information left out of "Goblet". Why did Harry and Voldemort's wands connect? A line or two from Dumledore could have shed light on the event... but there is none (except for his muttering of the phenomenon's magical name under his breath . . . for all we know it could be a reference to some Catholic rite-of-passage!) I give this movie a thumbs down! Sorry Rosie!