I made Dave take me to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the other day. I really liked the movie, it was a great time. However, the third movie is still my favorite. As much as I liked this movie, I was expecting more, since this is my favorite book of the lot.

First of all, I understand that it's hard to fit a 700+ page book into 2 1/2 hours of movie, especially with all the intertwined storylines that Rowling had created. The writers did a pretty good job of taking the book apart and putting it back together into a shorter story.

However, there were many parts where I got excited, but then got let down because the movie quickly moved on to another subject.

If you haven't read the book, and don't want it spoiled, don't read on...

In the beginning scenes, Harry and friends go to the Quidditch cup, which is held in this AWESOME stadium, and it's all exciting seeing the teams flying around in this huge stadiums with a bunch of fanfare. I thought to myself, "This is going to be an amazing match!" Then all of the sudden they're back in the tents and the deatheaters are coming by, all Klan style, wreaking havoc. What happened to the match?

The tasks for the Tri-Wizard tournament had some great special effects, but didn't have that life or death feeling that they did in the first book. The maze was hardly scary, and didn't seem too hard, considering it was the last task of the tournament. Everything seemed watered down a bit.

Then there are the things that aren't even in there, like SPEW, or how annoying Rita Skeeter REALLY was, Cho Chang is just a little sidenote, and my favorite parts of the movies - the day to day classes and just attending Hogwarts. There just wasn't time to include this filler stuff - most of the movie brings you action scene to action scene to action scene. One of my favorite moments in the book, which I felt that scenes in the movie were leading up to, was when big jock Victor Krum tries to prounounce Hermione's name in the library. It was the cutest, and I think it would have made a great scene. But alas, it was not meant to be! Krum just comes across as a big blockhead that just wants a piece of Hermione's ass. OK, not really, but just little, right?

But enough of knocking the movie, it was still great. Having a British director helped a lot - there was rain in almost every scene, and there was a very dark mood in this one.

It's great to see the kids growing up. Hermione looks great, and you're glad that she goes with that hot beefcake Krum to the dance, leaving the quivery lipped Ron in the dust to think about how much she means to him. Harry is turning out to be quite a looker, if I was a young'un, he may have adorned my locker. He also does a great performance near the end, weeping over the body of a classmate.

The effects are amazing. Not once did I think to myself, "Ohh, that was a cool effect." It was all real to me, and this is a compliment to the special effects team.

All in all, a great movie. I can't wait til the next one comes out, even darker than this one!

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I also had a reader submit a review for Harry Potter, our very own "Aquaman", who has returned from the dead and is now posting through me, so he doesn't get in trouble. *wink*

His review is a little less wordy than mine...

Goblet of Fire, Three Stars.

Wouldn't necessarily say that this one is the crowning achievement of the series. [I think I enjoyed part two the most out of the four movies.] Anyway, there was a whole lot going on, multiple storylines criss-crossing each other. The tournament is portrayed as a huge deal in the wizarding world, but there's a lot more going on behind the scenes that's kind of distracting. The other three movies all had a definite storyline, progression and resolution, but this one was a little scattered. Kind of like it was a middle chapter in the overall story [which it is], but not as complete a movie on its own.

But there is a whole lot to like as well! I thoroughly enjoyed the darkness and violence, and there was a whole lot!! Exactly what this series needs to keep everyone interested. I also liked the whole teens-growing-up thing, too. Nothing wrong with a little eye candy thrown in to keep the daddy's tuned in! [Never mind that these girls are supposed to be teenagers...] Although I felt that this movie felt a lot more like a chapter than a story on its own, it was pretty satisfying, and what happened in the movie promises to have dramatic, dark, and disturbing repercussions for the next installment. You have to go see it!

What a pervert.

So has anyone seen this yet? What do you think?

Posted by Yano at December 9, 2005 12:36 AM

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