Goblet of Fire Fan Reviews

By Samantha

When I entered the movie theater to view the fourth installment of the Harry Potter film franchise, Goblet of Fire , I had very high expectations.  When I left the movie theater, I had some very mixed feelings about it.  In staying true to the book, I do think the movie is absolutely brilliant.  What scenes are there (albeit very few from the book actually made it into the film), were executed almost exactly as I imagined them when reading those parts.  And, in a few cases, far exceeded my imagination!  Any changes made to those scenes were only improvements and the effects are flawless, as well as the actors' performances.  However, as a stand-alone film... it has some serious issues.

Even after reading the book twice, some of the scenes in the movie came across as confusing.  Like, why Moody's little curse demonstration upset Neville so much.  If I had not already known the back story there, it would have left me wondering "what the heck was that about?" (which is exactly what my husband said - he's not read the books)  The fleeting mention of the Longbottoms in the pensieve scene was hardly enough to grasp, much less remember.  It seems to me that whole thing could have been explained with one line from one character (um, perhaps... Moody??).  But it was left to hang... much like Rita Skeeter's impressive, though eventually non-directional scenes.  I was sure they were leading to something in the end with her, but the movie ended and it's like she had never even been part of it.  That rather disappointed me.  In some respects, the whole movie was more like a series of short, one-act plays, loosely tied together by one common character: Harry Potter.  And worse, it felt like the story happened over the course of only a few days or weeks, rather than an entire school year.  Perhaps a little more effort could have been spent on the illusion of the passage of time and actually meshing it all together.  There were a couple of pointless scenes that could have been cut shorter to allow more time for slower transitions.  Sometimes it felt like I blinked and somehow managed to miss an entire scene.  I'm desperately hoping that the DVD release has an extended version of the movie, and will be a more fluid story.

BUT, despite the choppy storyline, there is no denying that the movie is a whole lot of fun to watch.  The confusing pace can be forgiven because of the nail-biting action and the sheer terror of the climatic Voldemort scene.  There is smart humor, and real emotion, and the edgy performances by Dan, Emma, and Rupert are dead-on perfect.  I do intend to see the movie again while it's still in the theater and I think a second viewing will give me a chance to catch the subtle nuances I missed the first time.  I recommended it highly for anyone who has read the book.  Unfortunately there is SO much in the book that there's going to be at least one thing you were hoping to see in the movie that isn't there.  But what is there is bloody fantastic.

For those of you who have followed the story only in the movies, this is a very different experience.  It's dark and adult themed... no more cute little kids having wacky adventures at Hogwarts.  And if the movies do continue to follow the course of Rowling's books... dark and difficult times are most indeed ahead.

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