A Movie That All Should See

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2005)

First, I must say, that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was an exceptional movie that will be enjoyed by any fan of the series. Also, it has to be understood that in a two and a half hour film, it is quite impossible to cram in the side-stories and the tiny details that made us smile in the original novel. In my personal opinion, the Harry Potter movies shouldn't just stand alone, but the viewer must have read the book as well to understand exactly what is going on. With all of that said, let me begin.
Overall, I found this film to be a huge improvement from the Prisoner of Azkaban. The acting was far better, it was still visually stunning and they were able to get across that these children that we have grown up with over the past four years aren't children anymore, they're teenagers. They're teenagers about to enter into a terribly dark world where Voldemort will stop at nothing but to regain his control over the wizarding world. Just simple things, like Hermione and Harry laughing at Hermione's "misuse" of words while she tried to describe the relationship between her and Viktor or Ron being absolutely mortified when having to dance with Professor McGonnagal. The adults did a good job as well. Mad-Eye's sick humor was perfect. McGonnagal was flawless as always, and I think Professor Snape, even if he said probably a total of five lines, was still a joy to see on screen. The directing, on the other hand, was a bit awkward from time to time. During the Quidditch World Cup Raid in the beginning, I was constantly going "what?" because it was just so awkward. Also, Neville's scene on the staircase, ending with the stained glass window, was so cheesy, even Wisconsin would've said it came from its state.
One thing about this film that I'm sure nobody will disagree with me about is that it was rushed. As all fans of the book will know, that saying that there is a ton of content in the book would be an understatement. I constantly found myself trying to catch up with what's going on. The lovely transitions from fall to winter or winter to spring that gave you a chance to think about what happened are gone. They go from one event to the next immediately. I personally didn't mind it, because I have read the books and knew what was going on, but I couldn't help but feel for the rest of the audience who never even cracked a Harry Potter book, wondering if they knew that Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew (which they never explained in the last movie) and if they're going to understand a couple things in the future movies, because those issues weren't addressed in the past movies. Really, I think it's to each his own on this issue. I didn't mind how quick they went from one event to the other in a heartbeat, but to others I guess it could be terribly annoying.
This is definitely what I would title a PG-13 movie. If you have a child under the age of eight years, save it until it comes out onto DVD when you're able to view it in your own home and edit it at your own pleasure. While some of the content might go over their heads, you cannot deny the fact that the idea of the most ultimate form of evil in Harry's world is back and in a very human-like form would terrify a child of four.
In the end, I found this movie to be quite enjoyable. Keep the toddlers out of the theater and save it for home. The acting is quite enjoyable, but the directing is another story. Even if the movie was a bit rushed and you're an avid Harry Potter fan, go, see it and more than likely you'll love it. If you're not, more than likely you'll still love it, just make sure that you can accept that this is just an adaptation of the book and you're probably not going to understand everything immediately.