Dude, awesome!

Rating: 9/10 (22 November 2005)

I saw the movie on Saturday night with some trepidation. I was concerned that this being my favorite book in the series that I was going to be disappointed as I was with POA. I felt that in POA even thought the acting did improve from the previous two installments, that the acting was still a little stiff, scenes were added that were either not needed (bird flying into the tree three times) or laughable (crying scene in Hogsmede), the special effects were horrible (with the exception of Buckbeak), and the core story was just ignored. That said, I thought that I was going to be very harsh on GOF for the same reasons. I am happy to report that I had none of those same complaints with this new installment.
The core story is told very well without all the side plots that work in a book (even if they make the book drag a bit) but just do not work in a movie. I am actually glad that Winky, Dobby, the World Cup game, SPEW etc were all cut. They are all somewhat annoying in the book and I was glad that they were gone. The film makers took what both the previous directors did well (Columbus telling the story of the book and Curon upping the artistic value of the films) and fused them together.
I have only a few problems with the movie which I am going to mention first so that I can get them out of the way. First I was not that impressed with the score. The music was good but unlike the music say in Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, it did not make the movie better. I think that is due to the absence of John Williams (the best movie composer of all time). The second is the absence of Sirius. The problem I have is not that he is important to this particular story (which he is not) but that the bond between him and Harry I think should have been more developed given what is to come in OOTP. Third, I found the very end of the movie to be a little too upbeat but more on that later.
Now on to the parts that I liked in the film: this is by far the best of the series (the book and the film). The special effects were better than all three previous movies combined. In POA I was laughing at the Demetors (which looked cheesy) and the werewolf (which looked fake) because as they were both meant to be scary, they were the farthest thing from scary. And don't get me started on Fluffy. This time around I was for the first time in the movie series scared. I especially liked the dragon sequence around Hogwarts, even though is deviates from the book. It deviates from the book to make the sequence more visually appealing and it worked. I am not one of those people who wanted to see the other champions fight their dragon. This movie is called Harry Potter and the GOF, not Cedric Diggory and the GOF.
Even though the special effects were amazing, it did not distract from the characters as it did during the first two films. I was not a big fan of the Yule Ball in the book but I found myself laughing out loud in the theater during this part in the film, which I have done while watching any of the other HP films. I especially enjoyed the scene in the study hall where Snape is smacking Harry and Ron over the head with the book. I thought this scene blended slapstick comedy and British comedy to make a really funny scene.
Now on to the main event, He Who Must not be Named, oh what the hell, Voldemort. I was a bit worried that the movie makers would tone down this scene for a down graded rating. I am so happy that they did not do that. The scene is just how I pictured and Voldemort is sufficiently freaky (however, Darth Vader takes the cake as the scarier villain, sorry). The only complaint I have with this scene is that Wormtail seems kind of calm for someone who just cut off his hand. You would think that after cutting his hand off, he would be in pain. I am only guessing because I have never cut my hand off and would have no idea what it would feel like (this is sarcasm by the way). But I digress.
I went into the movie with some concern with the acting given the last three films. I was pleasantly surprised that the acting was greatly improved, especially with the trio. Even thought Rupert Grint stole the show in a lot of the scenes he was in, the actor that improved the most was Daniel Radcliffe. Granted, none of these kids are Haley Joel Osment but there are a number of touching scenes, namely Harry's parents ghostly visions to Harry in the graveyard and the returning of Cedric's body to Hogwarts. This is the first time that you really feel for Harry in the movie series and I am happy to say that this time around I was not laughing during the crying scenes.
The acting from the adult actors was, as always, a treat. From Alan Rickman to Maggie Smith to Brendan Gleeson and especially Ralph Fiennes, I thought they were all fabulous. I even like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore.
On a whole I liked the very end of the movie except for the fact that it was a little too upbeat. Unlike the previous two installments this movie had a beginning, middle, and an end and has the best structure of all four movies. By far my favorite. Finally the spirit of Harry Potter was captured on screen. I just hope they keep it up for OOTP.