 |
| Directed By: |
| Mike Newell |
| Starring: |
| Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon |
Though it's the first in the series to earn the dreaded PG-13 rating, Goblet of Fire has nowhere near the suspense or poignancy of it's literary counterpart. With poorly threaded side stories and awful costuming, this movie version is kind of a mess. The story's focus lingers on bland interpersonal relationships and coming of age scenarios that trail off into La-La Land. The overall feel is more like a Dungeons and Dragons ABC after school special than anything else. Mike Newell does with Goblet of Fire what Joel Schumacher did for the Batman franchise. I still have nightmares about the tragedy that is Batman and Robin (1997). This is not what I expected from a Harry Potter movie.
Though it's the first in the series to earn the dreaded PG-13 rating, Goblet of Fire has nowhere near the suspense or poignancy of it's literary counterpart. With poorly threaded side stories and awful costuming, this movie version is kind of a mess. The story's focus lingers on bland interpersonal relationships and coming of age scenarios that trail off into La-La Land. The overall feel is more like a Dungeons and Dragons ABC after school special than anything else. Mike Newell does with Goblet of Fire what Joel Schumacher did for the Batman franchise. I still have nightmares about the tragedy that is Batman and Robin (1997). This is not what I expected from a Harry Potter movie.
The highly entertaining 'MadEye' Moody (Brendan Gleeson) turns Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) into a ferret in a very funny scene.
Emma Watson's ballroom entrance, where she looks like a 12-year-old who got into her mother's vanity.
Fans of the book beware: Goblet of Fire is not, I repeat, not the book. The bones are here, but the flesh and the soul are missing. Consequently, individuals who have not read the story may have a difficult time keeping track of what’s going on in the story and why.
Goblet, like the other Potter movies, focuses on children dealing with adult issues, including their own mortality, and that pesky teenage hormonal imbalance we call puberty. The teen melodrama annoyingly overshadows major plotlines, such as a Tri Wizard Tournament, and an ongoing conspiracy to kill Harry Potter by his arch-nemesis, Lord Valdemort (Ralph Fiennes); It doesn't leave a lot of room for action.
On top of that, character relationships are poorly spun, somehow ending up with something reminiscent of The Breakfast Club (1985). Picture it: Harry keeps a flare gun in his robes as he slowly goes insane from all the peer pressure, while Ron turns Billy Bad-ass and carries a well concealed switch-wand around causing trouble wherever he goes. Hermione turns to illicit potions to settle her insecurities... Oh the humanity. Life as a teenager really sucks when you can make anything you want with the flick of the wrist.
With a lot of ground to cover, Goblet's plot is crammed together to fit a nominal running time, straining out a lot of much needed emotion and motive. The story’s ability to utilize future critical characters such as Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy), Cho Chang (Katie Leung), Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), and Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) is somehow lost in translation; They're just taking up space.
I did find some enjoyment in the MadEye Moody character, whose in-your-face drill sergeant antics got a few chuckles. Comic relief that works, what would George Lucas say?
Goblet of Fire is a sophomoric effort by a mediocre director that could have been much better. This isn't what I expected at all from the most popular and liked book in the series.
A "killing curse", Avada Kedavra, is used on a bug and a young male wizard. Harry Potter gets a cut on his wrist, and Wormtail (Timothy Spall) cuts off his hand. He gets it back.
An unnecessarily shirtless Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and an anatomically correct one-piece bathing suit on Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour).
The CGI is outright atrocious. The costuming is worse. Not only do characters look like they're dressed for a '40s cabaret party, one of them was actually dressed like Count Dracula at one point. Tragically uncool.
My award for least effective ballroom entrance goes to Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), who doesn't look any better with a makeover than she does covered in mud.
Make sure you check out the really bad, completely out of place punk rock band after the formal dance. It's like when your Dad makes a badly used pot reference to bump up his street cred around your friends.