Disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (21 November 2005)

After the fantastic adaptations of the previous books, Goblet of Fire was a huge disappointment. So many subplots and characters were left out that what remained had huge holes in it, ideas dangling, vital events chopped to nothing or a teaser at best: such as the Quidditch Cup and the DeathEaters march while torturing the Muggles above their heads, etc. It was unsatisfying and I wish they had stuck with the original plan of a 2-part movie to better capture the genius and style of Rowling's series. I missed seeing the tiff between Hagrid and Madame Maxime over his suggestion that she might be part-giant, and you couldn't really grasp the extent of Harry's isolation from everyone, including his closest friends, that year. As he is getting older and closer to fulfilling the prophecy, things are getting harder, darker, and more lonely, and being a teenager sucks. On the upside, the Horntail scrabbling across the minarets of Hogwarts after Harry and the scene in the graveyard with Voldemort were fantastic. The scenes of talking to Sirius in the fireplace and finding out the truth about Mad-Eye Moody really reminded me of the book and were effective.