Goblet of Fire - Post

We did see Harry Potter IV yesterday - actually not just the boys and I as originally planned, but all five (six-minus-one) of us. I was reluctant to let Shayna go because of the PG13 rating, but she really wanted to and she's generally not the type to get overly scared from movies. Besides, I want to encourage her to read the books.


WARNING - Spoilers for Book/Film #4 and some for Book 5 as well....

Soccer Dad wrote a good review which I mostly agree with; here are a few added impressions:

- Very well-paced and exciting movie, even for those that didn't read the book. I would say this was certainly the best directed of the four films, and all things considered probably my favorite overall as well. Glad my worries about Newell were groundless.

- Much like the book, this installment was darker and more serious than the previous ones - and not just, or even mainly, due to gorier special effects (they were actually much less graphic than I had expected given the rating), but due to the overall theme. In fact, I would categorize the films as follows: the first two, and to a lesser degree #3, were fundamentally children's movies that adults could appreciate on a somewhat deeper level, while Goblet of Fire was fundamentally a grownup film that happened to star children (canonical example of that genre: Stand By Me).

- Films 5 and 6 will need to be treated similarly. Since both books will obviously have to be trimmed considerably, I feel it would be a mistake to favor preserving the more juvenile-friendly material at the expense of the more difficult, mature aspects. E.g., one key theme of book 5 is Harry's disillusionment about his father's youth, based on what he saw in Snape's memories. I would hope not to see that scene/theme deleted.

- Speaking of cuts, I think this film did as good a job as could be expected in deciding which parts of the book to leave out while retaining the central/critical elements. Most of the deletions - e.g., Care of Magical Creatures class, SPEW, the Dursleys, Rita Skeeter's secret, etc. - were relatively standalone and expendable. But one omission that I did disagree with, was the discussion between Hagrid and Madame Maxime where the latter denies her giantish heritage in outrage, while Hagrid is open and proud about his. I thought this was a very poignant scene in the book and fleshed out Hagrid's character significantly, while also setting up a key element of book 5. And it could have been retained without lengthening the movie at all, so its exclusion was pointless.

- I will join the chorus that Michael Gambon just isn't cutting it as Dumbledore, and not only because Richard Harris was so good in the first two films. Gambon simply isn't capturing the essence of the character - and in absolute, not relative terms. I think they should have looked harder at the replacement when Harris passed. It isn't too late to reconsider for the subsequent two films, in both of which Dumbledore has much more of an on-stage and pivotal role than in the first four.

- Cedric's death, and his father's subsequent reaction, were intended to be powerful for all viewers but hit me especially hard - for obvious reasons. I had trouble holding it together for several moments after that.

- But to end on a happy note, I loved every one of the teen angst / Yule ball related scenes. I was howling with laughter when Ron had to practice-dance with Prof. McGonagall ("...put my hand on your what??"). Also, as Soccer Dad noted, any scene with Fred and George was hilarious. I beg the Muggle powers that be, please don't cut their big departure scene in film 5!!