Beautiful, But Disappointing.

Rating: 9/10 (24 February 2006)

There was a lot of debate at the beginning of this project concerning the options of making this two separate films, going long (there was talk of a 3-hour film), or just trying to lump it all into one feature-length film and be done with it. I must say, I was hoping for 2 separate films. I don't think I would have minded that sacrifice just to have a comprehensive chapter of this saga.
But before I start, let me say that all three main actors, Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint, have grown exponentially in their talents!
There were many things left out, nuances from the novel which went unused, and whole ideas/parts of the original literary work which were entirely ignored.
SPOILERS!!
Fleur was not nearly as saucy as the novel portrayed her.
There was no giant spider in the labyrinth.
Neither was there a sphynx; a creature I was highly anticipating, by the way.
After seeing the treatment of the hippogryph Buckbeak in the PoA, I was certain the sphynx would be completely AWESOME. No sphynx/sphinx.
And also absent was Hermione's campaign against the abuse of house-elves known as "SPEW."
And, I must add that I was a bit...disturbed by the wardrobe choice for the Death Eaters. They were dressed as KKK members, but in dark robes instead of white. I realize this style of dress far predates the Klan, but in this day and age, it's the first thing to be brought to mind by that headgear. Perhaps this is just an American phenomenon? Are the KKK not world-wide? Or was this intentionally done to demonstrate to the children that these are evil men?
I thoroughly enjoyed Gambon's interpretation of Albus Dumbledore this time around. He put more of himself into the part, and stopped attempting to "do" Richard Harris's Dumbledore. While it's NOT the Dumbledore from Rowling's work, I've come to admire his attempt in GoF.
Whether by natural aging or a decent dye job, Radcliffe's hair is darker in this installment, but oddly enough his eyes seemed to change from blue to green, off and on again, throughout the movie. Radcliffe's acting is maturing with him, but crying on demand seems nigh impossible for the lad. It could be that he's led such a sheltered and/or protected life that he's nothing upon which to draw that instantaneous grief many actors use to perform this task.
Fred (James) and George (Oliver Phelps) Weasley were suitably brought forward, marking their positioning for Movie 5 (OotP). Although Harry failed to hand over the gold coins won in the Tri-Wizard Tournament to the lads to begin their business, I'm sure the next director will make do with what set up was left for him, and find some way to incorporate that into the next installment. It's a necessary detail, in My opinion, which was totally left out of this chapter. It's needed, in order to maintain the continuous storyline between the cinematic attempts. Without that detail, there leaves a long, empty path which will remain untrodden in upcoming theatrical events. That would be highly disappointing.
We're shown for the first time how Neville reacts to the Unforgivable Curses, but not told why, as is appropriate. You don't learn until Book 6 (HBP) exactly WHY his reaction to Mad-Eye Moody's demonstration, was so strong.
Emma Watson (Hermione) was completely ready for this particular treatment. She was beautiful. Quite lovely and all grown up. I know her father must have felt SO proud to see her looking so lady-like, and without showing even the slightest hint of too much skin.
The best scene? For Me, it's a toss-up between Draco-the-white-ferret being tossed about by Mad-Eye Moody and Harry's scenes with the Horntail.
A CNN reviewer stated that this film "tries to do too much." Well, in my opinion, it didn't TRY, it succeeded! It started off well, ran well, and ended well. There was not one moment of wasted film. Not one bad cut, not one lost second. From start to finish, there was meat and potatoes, but that's not all it gives its viewers. There are lovely bits of wonderful pastries and a fine dessert as well.
Aside from what was mentioned above, GoF was everything for which I had hoped. As promised, the dragons were superb!!! I would have loved to have laid eyes on the Chinese Fireball, but if you really want to see what it looks like check out The Noble Collection, where you can also purchase a sterling silver Time Turner!!
The performances were beautifully directed, the cast was perfectly chosen, and the only complaint I had whatsoever concerning the performance executions was that of Fleur. Clemence Posey was the perfect actress for that part, but for some reason, Mike Newell traded in her sexuality and self-possession for a "girl-next-door" persona. I don't know why he felt the need to alter that character in such a drastic way, but it just did not achieve what he meant to achieve unless that was to rewrite a whole new personality for one of the principle characters in this chapter.
But for book lovers everywhere, take heart. The story IS here. While some of the details were left off due to time constraints, and some of the lines were moved around due to contractual obligations, the meat of the story (and there IS a LOT of story here) remains completely intact.
The flying horses are so realistically layered, textured, executed, and presented! I couldn't take my eyes off of them! They were magnificent!
I can't WAIT to own this on DVD!
It rates an 8.7/10 and is, by far, the best HP movie to date.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Budget: $140M Opening 2-Day Weekend Box Office Ticket Sales: $101M Not bad, you guys. Not bad!