Product: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Rating: 4.0
Great movie--but I guess I need to read the book
Though I've never read any of the books in this series I can tell that part of Rowling's popularity stems from her ability to infuse the epic element into her popular children's books. The Harry Potter story is not a superficial or predictable story-rather it is a story of near epic proportions that takes place in a world that is very rich both in detail and in history. This is why I, at least, find the movies so compelling. They're entertaining for kids, sure, but (like CS Lewis's Narnia series) adults can enjoy the story as well. And the overall effect (that epic quality) is that the entire world in which these movies take place is one in which a thousand stories could be told. This richness is why I like Harry Potter so much.The movies have always done a great job of preserving the epic feel while still remaining very entertaining. Unfortunately this movie didn't quite do that for me-maybe it's because of the length of the corresponding book. For whatever reason, I felt left out of some of the "lore" of the movie, and found myself with questions about characters and events and wanting to know more. The entertainment value is still here, of course, and this movie was definitely worth seeing. But for the first time I felt like, since I was watching the movie without having read the book, I was missing out.Maybe this movie would benefit from an "Extended Version" going into more detail of some of the `back stories.' I know that's certainly something I'd be interested in. Despite this shortcoming, however, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a very good film, complete with great acting and awesome special effects.