Finally, a decent Potter film.

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2005)

Having been disappointed with the previous disjointed Potter films that seemed to hurtle through each storyline at such breakneck speed, Goblet of Fire is a real breath of relief. GoF seems to be where the franchise really finds it's feet and displays a confidence that finally allows the screen adaptation to step out aside of the rigidities of book adaptation; and all for the better.
Having read Rowling's fantastic Goblet of Fire in the run up to the film's release I entered the cinema with a fresh knowledge of the story as written. I could list the ways in which it differs to book, of which there are many, however, I feel this would be missing the point. As the film states, it is based on Rowling's novel. The books and the films are to me, two separate entities.
As a film, there is a real feeling of joy that has not been apparent in the previous films; the cast all exude a confidence in their roles and a camaraderie between each other that is wonderfully evident and of course, symptomatic of working together for so long. What a bonus that many of the actors seem to me to be the embodiment of the characters in the books, i.e. the Weasley twins, Neville, Ron, Malfoy, Filch, almost all of the teaching staff.
At last, here is the film that finally shows them off and allows them the chance to do so. This film deals with the themes of the book such as adolescence, isolation and romance more explicitly than the storyline itself, hence this is why many of the characters behave differently in the film and why many don't appear altogether. What has been compromised in content has been more than made up in the freedom from such detailing to the sheer enjoyment of Harry's world.
There have been complaints about the difference of behaviour in the characters than in the book but I believe this is necessary for the film because the characters simply can't be so complex in the short space of time available to achieve such a fluid story. Because of this I think some of the characters' behaviour on film suggests more revealingly what is yet to come...Enjoy.