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| Grint and Radcliffe: Get your robe, you've pulled. |
Novels are always difficult to transpose onto the big screen. On average, each page of a screenplay equates to 1 minute of screen time, so trying to condense a 636 page novel into a 157 minute script is going to prove problematic. As expected, The Goblet of Fire suffers from the negative effects which would come from such an adaptation, magnifying the inadequacies of the previous installments.
Harry is now in his fourth academic year, and everyone seems to have simultaneously noticed the opposite sex. To make matters worse, the Tri-Wizard tournament, a dangerous interschool competition which sees three students compete in three challenging tasks is being hosted at Hogwards this year. Take into account that one school is full of beautiful French girls, and the other hulking Hungarian guys, and you have a recipe for adolescent disaster.
After Cuaron's success in The Prisoner of Azkaban, the obvious choice would have been for him to continue the saga. Instead he had been replaced by Mike Newell, but the change is hardly noticeable, and Newell maintains the darker atmosphere and style of the previous film. There are several new cast members, but the most notable are Brendon Gleeson as 'Mad-Eye' Moody and a more prominent role for Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, who is suitably terrifying. Daniel Radcliffe is still trailing after his classmates, with Grint and Watson constantly improving, as well as solid performances from Felton (Malfoy) and Wright (Ginny).
Setting aside these glorious bits of casting, it is difficult to ignore the ellipsed material from the novel. The entire quidditch world cup match is missing, a large majority of the backstories are missing, and several parts of the core narrative have been cut. In franchise fashion the introduction is nonexistent, which aims the film squarely at fans, but will disappoint some due to absent material.
Although The Goblet of Fire does have some gaping flaws, the scenes outside the poorly executed romance stories are fairly impressive. The Goblet of Fire is by far a more violent film that its predecessors, with highlights including a stunning battle with a Hungarian Horntail dragon, an expedition into the Hogwarts lake, and an atmospheric climatic showdown. The Scooby-Doo ending is not the fault of the film-makers,
Like the adolescent hormonal capers it heavy-handedly depicts, The Goblet of Fire is a conflicted film. Some moments are admittedly thrilling and enjoyable, however most of what made the fourth book so engrossing has been cut. The wonderful imagination is still present though, and if you can put the undulating narrative behind you, and not dwell on the blithering romance as much as the film does, The Goblet of Fire can still be an watchable and entertaining adventure.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
After Cuaron's success in The Prisoner of Azkaban, the obvious choice would have been for him to continue the saga. Instead he had been replaced by Mike Newell, but the change is hardly noticeable, and Newell maintains the darker atmosphere and style of the previous film. There are several new cast members, but the most notable are Brendon Gleeson as 'Mad-Eye' Moody and a more prominent role for Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, who is suitably terrifying. Daniel Radcliffe is still trailing after his classmates, with Grint and Watson constantly improving, as well as solid performances from Felton (Malfoy) and Wright (Ginny).
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| Robert Pattison as Cedric Diggory: Harry's competition in more than one way. |
Although The Goblet of Fire does have some gaping flaws, the scenes outside the poorly executed romance stories are fairly impressive. The Goblet of Fire is by far a more violent film that its predecessors, with highlights including a stunning battle with a Hungarian Horntail dragon, an expedition into the Hogwarts lake, and an atmospheric climatic showdown. The Scooby-Doo ending is not the fault of the film-makers,
Like the adolescent hormonal capers it heavy-handedly depicts, The Goblet of Fire is a conflicted film. Some moments are admittedly thrilling and enjoyable, however most of what made the fourth book so engrossing has been cut. The wonderful imagination is still present though, and if you can put the undulating narrative behind you, and not dwell on the blithering romance as much as the film does, The Goblet of Fire can still be an watchable and entertaining adventure.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
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