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[miss_seph]

[spoilers] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - The Movie

[Phaedra]

I've never read the books, nor do I intend to, but I agree that the movie was somewhat disappointing.

I loved the third movie. I thought it was the first HP movie to work as a movie and not just as a filmic adaptation of a book, I enjoyed the darker tone and humor, and I thought the work by the adult stars was wonderful.

The first two I found to be excruciatingly boring. I couldn't even make it through the first movie.

The fourth was definitely better than the first two, but there were times that I, as someone who hasn't read the books, was confused. Visually it was beautiful, and I enjoyed the distinctly English sensibility, missing from the first three films, that having a British director brought to it. But it felt really rushed. I would have liked to see the other three contestants fight their dragons. I wondered why there was even a need for the clues in the eggs when everyone in the school seemed to know where to gather for the second contest. Harry's crush on Cho barely has time to register.

And there was not enough of Alan Rickman. There never is, in these movies, but this time it seemed especially pronounced.

In general I felt like there was a lot of backstory I was missing. In the first three movies it didn't seem like a problem (heck, in the first two I could have done with significantly less).

I was, however, very impressed with the acting by the trio of actors portraying Harry and his friends. It's nice to see them growing up and starting to come into their own as actors.

[djlilia]

I saw the movie, I haven't read any of the books.
I was confused in some parts of the movie maybe that's why I fell asleep thru a couple of parts but I wasn't that bad I liked the sfx they where great and I think there is another one coming out, looking forward to it.

[rose]

I've read all the books and seen all the movies. I am partial to the books because my family has read each one aloud, taking turns with chapters. I highly recommend the books, generally they are far superior to the movies - just be warned they get darker and darker. The good news is that, unlike me, you can read the first 6 all at once instead of waiting for years between each release.

Of the films, this was the only movie I've enjoyed at all. In the others the acting was too atrocious and the story too watered down. If I didn't have to go because my son was too young to go alone, I would have happily missed the earlier ones. In this movie, of course, several things had to be changed because the book is just too long to make into a movie. But it is a definite improvement over the earlier films.

They overcame lots of problems with the acting- the boy that plays Harry is gradually improving, but you'll notice that he still has hardly any lines at all, actually, unlike the book which contains real conversations, if few speeches, all of the dialogue is minimized -by lots of CGI shots of Hogwarts and other things. My review: the movie is fun but you can wait until the DVD is released and read the book instead.

[rowan]

I for one was quite happy with the movie because the ferret was alive (and so freaking cute!) instead of being dead and fed to hippogriffs.

I seriously almost cried in the last one when Hermoine said "Come on Buckbeak! Come and get the nice dead ferret! " *sob*

[Ikkarus]

meh. It was... ok. It was long and incredibly choppy, but ok. My major issue with the movie is that it felt like a two-and-a-half-hour ride on the Knight Bus.

Bang! Quidditch! Bang! Goblet! Bang! First Trial! Bang! Yule Ball! Bang! Second Trial! Bang! Third Trial! Bang! Finale!

I understand that it was necessary to make the enormous plot workable in a reasonable amount of film time, but it just felt so completely disjointed. The only part they seemed to spend any time at all in was the Yule Ball, which my friend describes thusly: "Somewhere in the middle I woke up in a John Hughes film." Amusing and accurate.

Overall, I think I liked it. I certainly didn't hate it. It was nowhere near as good as the third movie, but definitely better than the first two.

Part of my problem might be that I thought the fourth book was the worst of the lot, so the movie was already working at a disadvantage. As far as I'm concerned, the plot doesn't make a damn lick of sense if you take thirty seconds to think about it.

[MageSteff]

[QBKooky]

I liked it. Yes, there were many parts that I wish they would've kept in, such as [these spoilers may ruin the book if you haven't read it:]

[Pixiestix]

From what i understand fro watching interviews, it wasn't financial reasons they got rid of the house elf stuff, but simply lack of time for full plot. I am rather annoyed because it is SUCH a plot point, and it follows so importantly into the next book... not just in how Herm deals with the house elves, but her interaction with Ron due to his interaction with them.

[konamouse]

I too was disappointed in the wasted info about Rita and why they even had her in the first place. That was an important plot point throughout the entire book that could have been quite interesting to include.

And her reporting causes so much trouble for Harry et al - the role of the newspaper/magazine clippings in his relationships with everyone else was an important part of the story and wish that was brought out more in the movie.

Where was Professor Snape? We didn't even get one class room session with him this time. And even Malfoy's role was so truncated. Maybe they should have done a two-part movie (now that the books are longer, maybe future movies should be released 1/2 for summer break, 1/2 at the holidays).

[Phaedra]

[Pixiestix]

[miss_seph]

That's right - this entire movie centred pretty much on events, as opposed to the others (and, more importantly, the book) which took the year as a whole.

I'd almost completely forgotten about the SPEW stuff! I need to go back and read #4 for the 5th time... And Rita Skeeter...

I agree about Alan Rickman also. He's the coolest actor in those movies.

If you don't want the book to be spoilt, don't read the spoiler.