Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
'Dumbledore asked calmly.'
★★★½
As we go along the Harry Potter books, the stories and the world start to get more and more darker. Can that be applied to the films? Well, that depends on the director, because J.K. Rowling hardly was invloved after the first two. With that in mind, Rowling basically just gave the filmmakers creative control.
Sometimes that can be a good thing, and most times it can be very rough. Chris Columbus is no longer invloved in these films, and Alfonso Cuarón declined the offer to direct Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because he would not finish working on the third film in time to begin the fourth. That meant a new director must be hired. Mike Newell took the job of directing The Goblet of Fire. And let's say his approach was certainly "interesting."
The film opens up in a mansion, where Wormtail (Timothy Spall), Barty Crouch Jr. (David Tennant) discuss with Voldemort about their plan to give him a new body. That was actually another "dream" Harry had. Harry is woken up by Hermione when she notices Harry is having a bad dream. Harry and Hermione are staying over at the Weasleys to all attend the Quidditch World Cup. On their way to the portkey, they encounter Amos Diggory (Jeff Rawle) and his son Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson).
As the group head to Hogwarts sometime later, the Trizward Tournament is being held at Hogwarts the first time in a long while. Three champions are picked, and a fourth one, unexpectedly was also choosen, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe).
Going back to my statement from earlier, Mike Newell adapted the book, but in a "unique" way. Rathering that following the book, like Columbus and Cuarón had done, Newell decided to adapt things his way in protest for not likeing the source material as much as the previous directors. That hurt the film in many ways, but what I liked about that approach was Newell's attempt on making it entertaning. While I disagree with most of his changes, I do appericate how he still made them interesting and entertaning.
The Goblet of Fire succeeds in its character development and interactions, comedic aspect, visuals, special effects, cinematography, and casting. The lows are basically all the scenes he failed to adapt, and his ridiculous changes.
Even if the movie may not have accurately replicated the novel, it is nonetheless a thrilling experience to see. I understand how low this film is for most Harry Potter fans, but I certainly think it's a lot better some of the later films.