Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
For a long time, this was my favorite of the Harry Potter movies. I loved the new characters, I loved the climax. I loved the concept of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I loved the visual effects. And while I still love all those things, later films in the franchise have taken my top spot.
So I’ll start off with the main cast and the characters they play. It is clear that the three leads, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson are growing in maturity, skill, and believability. They were great. I have to give special props to Radcliffe. Of course, he had to shoulder the most screen time, most of the action, and he did a fantastic job. You can really see the steady improvement in his skills as an actor. Grint actually did a great job, even though Ron was kind of a jerk for most of the film. I’m sure he was just following the instructions of the film’s director, Mike Newell. But most improved goes to Emma Watson. Her acting suddenly became more serious, more mature, and it was wonderful to see.
Little by little, over the course of the franchise, Robbie Coltrane’s Hagrid kept getting less and less screen time. By the final film, he was barely in it at all, save for a few short scenes. Michael Gambon did a great job, even with his notorious deviation from the books in a crucial moment. Fans of the books will know what that means. Then there was Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum. The real problem with their characters is that they were little more than window dressing. They had very few lines, and were mostly just there to look at, except for Cedric, whose roll was a little bigger. And there was Rita Skeeter, Madam Maxim, and Igor Karkaroff, all of whom were well-cast. And another new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody, who was fantastic!
And speaking of the main villain, we finally got a full-fledged Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes did an amazing job! If he was a real person, he would be terrifying! He is nothing less than a psychotic murderer who takes pleasure in his own evil. He was only in one scene, but he made such a big impact. His every movement, spoke volumes about his character, and Fiennes was brilliant! And the scene in which Peter Pettigrew brings him back is the darkest moment in the whole franchise, up until this point. I mean, my goodness! Wormtail cuts off his own hand as part of the spell to resurrect the dark Lord.
So here were some of the things about the movie that bothered me. The fact that his name came out of the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract? So… what? Would he die if he didn’t compete? If the whole point of Voldemort’s plan was to get Harry in the graveyard alone for the resurrection spell, why didn’t Barty Crouch Jr. just turn Harry’s shoe into a port-key? And Ron. It didn’t make any sense that Ron believed that Harry was a liar. Hiding behind that small rock would probably not have saved Harry from a blast of Dragon fire. Why couldn’t Harry or Hermione find the bubble-head charm in any of their research for breathing under water? And the movie never explained that It was Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Moody, who was using the Imperius Curse on Krum in the maze.
And the challenges were all supposedly watched by crowds of spectators. Except that in the first challenge, the spectators would have been in just as much danger as the champions. And when Harry and his dragon were on the roof of the castle, nobody would have been able to see them. And during the second challenge, nobody would have been able to see what was going on under the water. And in the third challenge, nobody would have been able to see the champions inside the ridiculously gigantic maze. The challenges were not, in any way, designed for spectators. Ah, but who cares. It all still looked great on the big screen.
Top 10 Favorite Parts
- The Quidditch World Cup.
- The arrival of the students from the other Wizarding schools
- The scene where Moody shows the unforgivable curses to the students
- The dragon challenge
- The scene where Harry asks Cho Chang to the Ball
- Hermione’s entrance to the Ball. “She looks beautiful.” Perfectly delivered
- The Yule Ball. I particularly loved the Durmstrang uniforms.
- The resurrection scene and Voldemort chastising the Death Eaters
- The wand battle and the ghosts of Harry’s parents.
- The reveal of Professor Moody’s true identity.