Exciting turn

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2005)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a solid adaption of the book. While everything was extremely condensed and at times missing transitions and a little bit episodic, the movie is full of action and some very funny puberty moments. Daniel Radcliffe improves a lot and delivers on the heartbreaking scene at the end of the tournament, and Voldemort is properly creepy and at times terrifying although I'm not sure the horror of the scene lives up to the one in the book for this viewer at least. The change of the maze was a brilliant touch as it is now very scary in the film and transitions very easily into the graveyard sequence. I don't agree with all the changes, especially how the movie feels very Harry/Hermione centered and how Hermione is portrayed (or is that just Emma Watson's overacted performance?) though a very very fascinating interpretation of Dumbledore that asks some necessary actions about his choices. Overall, the film is a good translation of the novel, and definitely fast-paced and amusing. The visuals are stunning, and the new composer adds freshness to the score. Miranda Richardson and Alan Rickman really stand out and give very funny performances. The film series seem to really be moving in the right direction, first with Cuaron's innovative direction, and now with Newell's continuation of Cuaron's world but moving into his own funny (dare I say more British?), fast-paced direction.