Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I first read the Harry Potter series in 1999, and have anxiously read every single book and watched every single movie. I admit that my ardor waned severely around 2003 (most likely due to the way that everyone and their uncle could talk of nothing but Harry Potter), and that the last book, The Book Which May Not Be Named, was a major disappointment for me; however, I still consider myself a Potter fan.

Nevertheless, I suspended my enjoyment with this last film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). If you are wondering why I am posting a review of this film so long after it was in theatres, and even months after it was new on DVD, I will explain. I refused to spend the theatre price to see this film, as I have become increasingly rebellious against the $23+ that it now costs couples to see movies. Then, when it was released on DVD, I even refused to rent it at new release price. You see, we always buy each installment on DVD, anyway, so we have decided not to, in effect, increase the cost of seeing it by walking through the wallet-wringing steps of theatre and rental, and waited for previously viewed to buy.

Last night, John brought home our spanking new (second-hand) copy! Naturally, we watched it right away.

There seems to be no major need to explain this series or the plot of a movie/book so well known as this, so I will be brief. Harry, who is now in fourth year, mysteriously gets entered into the famed Tri-Wizard Cup competition in which champions from the three major European magic schools match their wizardry skills and bravery. Harry’s friends turn on him, seeing this as his newest ploy to win attention and fame (it was about time that Ron and the rest got sick of being the sidekick of a spot-light hog). The cup trials begin, and Harry wins back much of his popularity. Then, just when it all seems that we will have yet another “Harry Wins the Match, Saves the School, and Goes off for Summer Vacation” triumph, everything goes to pot and we realize the world is about to end.

Any major problems I can find in this movie’s plot rightfully belongs to the book, so I will not spell them all out, except for a small mention that the loss of Cedric Diggory would probably have meant more if we had known him for longer than just one episode. However, as Goblet has been my favourite book thus far, I have few complaints in that vein.

As to the film, the special effects were good, the lighting was very nice, and the acting, when it wasn’t sliding into Dawson’s Magical Creek territory, was usually engaging and likeable (except for those poor actors who had no more than three words to say in the whole movie). Certainly those awful jeans-model-haircuts on almost every single boy was distracting and will be, in a few years, the first horribly “dated” thing in the series, but I have no qualms about the overall look of the film in general.

As far as characters are concerned, Michael Gambon didn’t even annoy me too much here (though I will forever mourn the loss of Richard Harris), and Ralph Fiennes was a stroke of casting genius (though I am sure he regretted having to keep his clothes on for once). But where the hell was Snape (and his voice) in this film? They may as well have had an Alan Rickman cutout standing in the crowd scenes! However, all in all, the general tenor of the book was preserved, though in an abbreviated sense, even if all the new characters were short-changed in terms of development. (Aside from the fact that those Durmstrang Institute fascists scared the tar out of me.)

So the problem wasn’t that I hated this picture, or even that it disappointed me, really (not in the way that, say, The Corpse Bride (2005) made me want to cry from frustrated and dashed hopes). Rather, insofar that this movie was simply a stacato pictorial illustration of the book's major scenes, it is one over which I can neither rant nor gush.

It was; it played. I watched it; it filled a couple of hours. I guess I enjoyed it – after all, it is always a pleasure to enter the world of Hogwarts, and I felt that to some extent here. But I certainly don’t think the movie has really left me with anything lasting. It’s sad, but what can one say? It showed me the important plot points, said the right things, and set up the next movie… mission accomplished. So… Meh, as Catherine would say. Meh.

One must wonder if perhaps the series has outgrown the two-hour movie treatment. It may not be possible for these books (now that they creep in 700 pages, plus) to be presented in any way other than the “illustrated story” form until the makers decide they must go to The Lord of the Rings format (three-hour films, with expanded sets for home video).

And the underwhelming viewing experience of this abridged film makes me hope they decide to do it very, very soon.