Lacking that bit of magic !!

Rating: 5/10 (26 December 2005)

The Harry Potter phenomenon has become an entity unto itself. Mention Harry Potter, and its met with overwhelming ad orations, excitement and a fervor not unlike football fanatics. The marketing machine has everything Harry Potter and the general atmosphere of the franchise is one of infallibility and automatic hit before release...
I wish it was so. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of Harry Potter and its air of childhood innocence and.. well... magic. However, the Goblet of Fire has lost a lot of what made it Magic.
Gone is that trademark booming and lovable Harry Potter 'theme' that usually opened the movie.. that music itself IS Harry Potter and is as recognisable as melodies from Star Wars, Indana Jones and Star Trek. Gone is the next step in evolution of Harry's Foster-parents... Harry was just where he was. Very few nice little treats of pointless excitement - ie the chocolate frog, all flavoured jellybeans, the fun of practicing new spells.. all gone. Even the continual grin of Radcliffe has disappeared, and when he did try to do it on the bridge, it looked forced and out of place.
What also is gone is the noble persona of Dumbledore. Once a character so eloquently played by Richard Harris, he was the epitome of what a respected, all knowing, and controlled Headmaster.. and all powerful one at that has come to resemble. In the Third we had to get used to Gambon and understand the differences, but now he's a failure. Lack of the same poise, he's now another character no more or less powerful. He's bumbling and has lost that dignity.
The rivalry of Draco Malfoy also mostly non-existent with a token showing of him in the movie, which in the scheme of things WAS token and pointless.
Snape lost his edge though the reference to his past was interesting.
The overall continuity was disappointing and the promise was not delivered. They built up the World Cup then let us down with not even a match shown or the possibility of Harry's involvement as THE Seeker. Krum was a bore, the build up of the Tri-Wizard Cup and its terrors wasn't even close to being realised.
The whole move lacked the grandiose of the first two movies and is even way behind the third. It no longer had that fairy tale like feel, and to me was 'just another sequel'. And I am VERY disappointed.
What it successfully did do however better than other past Harry Potter movies was shout for a sequel. I for one can only hope that it re-establishes that magic.
I personally have chosen to read the books AFTER seeing the movies. Therefore I am finding myself looking forward to reading Goblet of Fire as I envisage it FAR superior to the silver screen version (I hope!!). I sincerely hope that the Harry Potter franchise doesn't fall from the special and unique pedestal it now sits on, to the depths of mediocrity - or heaven forbid, like a Rocky 5, Rambo 3, Batman and Robin, etc - 'We should have stopped at two!!!'