Far to rushed, just wasn't on par with the book.

Rating: 4/10 (19 November 2005)

I must say that, at the ripe old age of 12, buying my fresh, hardcover copy of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" with my allowance money at a local Chapters was a thrill in itself. reading it as fast as I could was another thrill on top of that. When the movies were in production Iwas ecstatic and simply couldn't wait for "The Goblet of Fire" as it was, and still remains my favorite of the 6. I must say, I was let down, in a very big way.
The movie opens with something straight out of the novel, but then, everything seems to be kicked into fast-forward, without even touching the remote. I couldn't believe it. The entire movie seems as if it happens over a period of 7 days, not 10 months. There was no substance, not subplots, and, most tragic of all, I didn't care about the characters one bit.
The past 3 movies have tried very hard, and succeeded for the most part, in developing the characters and having them grow from film to film. However even Ron and Hermione were degraded to almost cameo roles. The conflict between Ron and Harry lasts all of 5 minutes, and there was little to no friendly interaction between characters. The three tasks were all that were focused on at all, with the dragon taking up the most screen time, however being the most pointless part of the film.
I wish that director Mike Newell had taken warner Bros. advice and made two movies, shooting both simultaneously. I am aware at the amount of work this takes, but if he were to do this, and edit both at once as well, he would have achieved a superb adaptation. But this film was sadly lacking in everything that makes Harry Potter what it is. I didn't care what happened to the characters, if they lived or died. All I cared about was when it would finish. The acting was wooden, the script weak and to full of stupid humor.
Maybe someday, these films will be reinvented the way they ought to be. And maybe then I'll give a damn.