Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I suspect it's not overstating matters to suggest that Harry Potter fans have been waiting for this movie since they saw the last one (the excellent Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). I'm compelled to admit that I'm one of those fans. I've been waiting months for November 18 to arrive; thankfully, our tickets were purchased early in the day because, even before the first show had been cued, all of the Friday showings were sold out. I settled into my seat along with a couple of friends, and waited eagerly for the movie to begin.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire recounts the events of Harry's (Daniel Radcliffe) fourth year at Hogwarts, a school for young witches and wizards. The movie begins slightly before the school year does when Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams) takes his family and a few friends to the World Quidditch Tournament. Harry, and his best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) are thrilled, especially when they're able to see the "world's greatest seeker," Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski) play. But when the tournament festivities are attacked by Death Eaters, the fun and games quickly come to an end.

Harry and his friends leave the abruptly terminated matches directly for Hogwarts where they're thrilled to hear Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) announce that their school will be the site of the infamous Tri-Wizard Tournament this year. Students from two other schools — Durmstrang and Beauxbatons — will join those at Hogwarts for the contest which is strictly limited to those age 17 and older due to the inherent dangers involved. The magical goblet of fire spits out names from each of the schools: Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson) from Hogwarts, Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) from Beauxbatons, and the famous Viktor Krum himself from Durmstrang are to compete. But then the goblet spews forth one more name: Harry Potter.

Though too young to compete, the rules are clear: if the goblet offers up a name, that student must participate. Harry is terrified, and can only hope he survives the contests to come. He has some hope of doing so, but only with help from Ron and Hermione; groundskeeper and good friend Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane); the newest Dark Arts teacher, Alastor "MadEye" Moody (Brendan Gleeson); and, strangely enough, the incompetent-at-just-about-everything Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis).

If all this isn't enough, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and his father, Lucious (Jason Isaacs) continue to plague Harry; Potions instructor, Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) is still no friend to Harry; and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) might just be making a comeback. Mix all of this with Harry's crush on a fellow student, Cho Chang (Katie Leung); a nasty falling out with Ron; and a true tabloid-type reporter for The Daily Prophet (Rita Skeeter, played by Miranda Richardson), and you'll begin to understand why Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was such a substantial book and such a disappointing film.

I could, I suppose, blame great anticipation for a bit of my disappointment. But I think it's probably more fair to blame the severe editing needed to squeeze a lengthy book into a two and a half hour time frame. As it was, the World Quidditch Tournament — which was an absolute delight to watch — was onscreen all too briefly. The unexplained attack by the Death Eaters would have been more than a little confusing to those who haven't read the book. And the necessity to pack so much into the film meant that favorite characters — such as the malevolent Malfoys, the acerbically funny Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), and the delightful Weasley twins, Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) — were given short shrift.

The acting is just fine from all of the youthful cast. The acting is quite a bit better than fine from Brendan Gleeson and, in her limited screen time, Maggie Smith. The special effects, as is to be expected, were superlative (pay particular attention to a feisty Welsh dragon), as were the sets. The direction seemed to elicit everything it needed to from the actors, and the editing was largely well done. But so much happened so quickly that there was little opportunity to really become emotionally invested in the film, and that's unfortunate seeing as how this part of Harry's story marks a real emotional watershed for him and his nearest and dearest.

It seems to me that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire would have lent itself well to a two-part series or, failing that, should have been longer. Peter Jackson (the Oscar™-winning director of the brilliant Lord of the Rings series) proved audiences would sit still for three and a half hour movies provided they're good ones, and the Harry Potter movies are among the few with stories that really are that good. Did I like the movie? Yes, I did. But it could have been better...

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is rated PG-13 for "sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images." I read one review where it was suggested that those too young to read the hefty book are too young to see the movie, and I'd agree. There are injuries, deaths, and other assorted nasty things that simply are not suitable for small children. Older Harry Potter fans (say 11 or so and up) will be fine, though, and will love seeing everything they've imagined (and then some) coming to life on the big screen. It's no small feat that even a movie that could have been so much better was still so good!