With the fifth installment of the HARRY POTTER movie franchise ("HARRY POTTER and the Order of the Phoenix") about to be released, I thought this would be a great time to look back at its predecessor - "HARRY POTTER and the Goblet of Fire". When the latter was first released in November 2005, many had hailed it as the best of the four HARRY POTTER movies. I wish I could have agreed with that assessment of Goblet of Fire. I really wish I could. But . . . I can't. I'm sorry, but I consider "Goblet of Fire" the weakest of the four movies.
Unlike others, I had no problems with the screenwriter cutting out some of the material from the novel (however, I do regret that Newell and Kloves had cut out the Dursley scenes - which were the best in the series. In fact, all of the first four novels had been edited for the movie screen. However, "Goblet of Fire" did so in a manner that left the movie filled with plotholes:
*Why didn't anyone know that couch Jr. was missing from Azkaban?
*How did Voldemort and couch Jr. know about the Triwizard Tournament?
*Where was the infamous trunk, when Moody aka couch Jr. arrived at Hogswarts?
Other problems I had with the movie was Newell's heavy emphasis upon a realistic portrayal of British schoolchildren, to the detriment of the characters' performance. He tried to be realistic with the Hogswarts students, yet wallowed in one-dimensional cliches and portrayals of the visiting foreigners.
Aside from the Yule Ball (one of two oder three sequences I actually enjoyed), I began to wonder if Newell was a Harry/Hermione shipper. I especially noticed that Hermione did not seem upset with Fleur thanking Ron for helping Harry to save her sister - unlike in the novel.
But my two biggest disappointments with the movie was its production Design (I got the feeling that Newell was trying to recapture Middle Earth as it was in "LORD OF THE RINGS: The Two Towers", making Hogswarts look very grim) and the hammy Schauspielen that nearly the entire cast seemed to be engaged in (with the exceptions of Dan Radclifffe, Rupert Grint and Alan Rickman).
Do not get me wrong - I still managed to enjoy "Goblet of Fire". But it was a comedown after the solid "Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chamber of Secret", and the dazzling "Prisoner of Azkaban". I can only hope that the fifth film - to be released in July 2007 - will bring back the magic.
