Something wicked this way comes!. Review on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Movie

Since I was predisposed to love this movie, I cannot guarantee the same movie-going experience for everyone. Read on to find out more!

Plot

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), return to their 4th year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, this year alongwith their normal school work, they have something else to look forward to - the Triwizard Tournament to take place between 3 wizarding schools.

The Tournament is open only to students 17 years and above but alongwith the triwizard champions of the other schools - Fleur Delacouer of Beauxbatons Academy, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang and Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts, a fourth name, that of Harry Potter is called out by the Goblet Of Fire. The tasks of the triwizard tournament are to take place over the course of the school year and will test the competitors in terms of their magical abilities, courage and intelligence. Some of the competitors of the past tournaments have died so Harry knows that whoever put his name into the Goblet of Fire isnt a friend. Harry is helped in preparing for the tasks by the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody (Brendan Gleeson), an Auror who is the person responsible for the capture and incarceration of most of the Death Eaters in Azkaban.

Alongwith the increasing pressures of preparing for and competing in the triwizard tournament, Harry also has to face jealousy and suspicion from Ron, a nosy reporter Rita Skeeter out for any story she can get her manicured hands on, increasing, recurrent dreams of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) hatching an evil plan involving Harry, the Yule Ball which Hogwarts as host will throw for Christmas, a growing crush on Cho Chang a Ravenclaw seeker and the most nerve-racking task of all, asking a girl to go with him to the ball. Just another year at Hogwarts! Little do the triwizard champions know that Lord Voldemort has a sinister surprise awaiting them at the end of the third triwizard task which involves You-Know-Who's greatest desire - regaining mortal form.

Review

The movie is well made, very stylish and extremely visually appealing. The line between special effects and reality is sufficiently blurred to make the experience completely enjoyable and speaks to the wonderful advancements made in the industry today. I was most amazed with the way Rowling's vision has been brought to the screen. Nowhere do the sets and their rich rendering disappoint, be it the spectacular Quidditch World Cup, the Beauxbatons carriage and Durmstrang ship and most importantly in the tasks of the triwizard tournament themselves. The dragons, merpeople and the maze are wonderful to watch. The second task involving the water and merpeople recieved, I think, the best treatment of the lot. The Hogwarts castle has lost the enchanted look which it had in Alfonso Cuaron's version, opting instead for more prosaic stone walls, circular staircases and stained glass windows but there is so much else happening in the movie, that it doesnt matter too much.

Cast and Characters

Among the main cast, only Rupert Grint is a good actor and he brings to screen the funny, insecure character of Ron perfectly. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are stuck with a stock number of expressions. While they were younger, this didnt matter too much, but as the complexity of the books have increased and they are required to emote more, they dont shape up well. The twins, Fred and George Weasley have grown up from awkward to good-looking young men :) and they bring a lot of comic relief every time they appear on screen. Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson) looks like he's been lifted from the book, he's perfect for the part!

I am not a fan of the present Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and his portrayal leaves a lot to be desired. Dumbledore is a great wizard, but here we see him cringing when the Goblet of Fire produces the 4th champion and nowhere does the portrayal present the animated, fun-loving headmaster with a hint of steel that we know and love. Instead we are stuck with a tired, sometimes hyper, old man, who doesnt seem to have the rapport with Harry that was present in the earlier couple of movies.

Mad-Eye looks sufficiently fierce but wasnt really scary or old enough. He does have a shiny, new metal leg instead of the wooden one that Rowling has him stumping around on and his fake eye is very good. Note has to be made of Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, in a role as totally unlike any he has undertaken in recent years. He looks evil with the slit-like nostrils, sharp, piercing eyes and menacing voice and the scene in the graveyard begins to show why he is a much-feared wizard.

General Thoughts

Technically this book has the most action and hence, is the one that is most suitable for adapting to screen and with so much action going on the story moves along at a brisk pace. Rowling purists will notice HUGE slashes being made in the material. A number of side-plots and character developments that are in the book are completely reduced or done away with completely. For example, the Quidditch World Cup which takes about half the book is reduced to the first 10-15 minutes and we are taken directly to the Triwizard Tournament.

But, I appreciate that it is not possible to take a book 800 pages long and turn it into a movie of reasonable length, so I didnt mind most of the cuts as much. Atleast, the gist of the story was not lost as in Prisoner of Azkaban which was largely very confusing for people not acquainted with the books. Some of cuts I did mind were the veelas, the Rita-Skeeter-as-bug episode, Hermione's reduced role, Sirius not being there at all and in the last task, the one in the maze which is given a totally different treatment, with none of the fighting of Boggarts, sphinx, the blast-ended skrewts or any of the things that occur in the book. A lot does happen in the maze in the movie, so I wonder why the original material wasnt kept.

Overall, this is the best movie in the series so far and a fun, entertaining watch. I was at the movies with a huge crowd, they brought the house down when the movie started and there were tons of girls shrieking when Harry takes a bath and is bare-chested for a couple of scenes :D I loved it and I would say it's well worth a watch for fans and others alike !!