Everyone got shortchanged

Rating: 5/10 (28 January 2007)

For the apologists for this movie, I have to admit they have a point. The special effects are exemplary, and to the non-Potter reader, it certainly is an eyeful.
For all the British schoolchildren who are Potter maniacs and have universally expressed their extreme displeasure, I feel your pain. Goblet of Fire is my favorite of the Harry Potter books, and it is a pleasure to read the extreme detail and careful subplots that JK Rowling has crafted.
The biggest loser, however, was anyone with a financial stake in the movie: Rowling, the studio, and the investors.
Originally, GOF was planned as a two-parter, to be filmed simultaneously like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The two parts could have been released 8 or so months apart, and would have effectively doubled the income from the film--had it been true to the book, repeat viewings and increased DVD sales might have tripled that income.
Unfortunately for both the fans of the book and the monied interests, the director was talked into condensing the book into one film, and the result is less than satisfying to all concerned. During filming, JK Rowling was either pregnant or had just given birth, so her attention was expectedly elsewhere, but I don't doubt that if she was giving her full attention to the film she would have insisted on a two-parter.
Given the reaction of her fans to the movie, I am sure she has some second thoughts about that decision.