Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Stars : Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Miranda Richardson

Directed By: Mike Newell
Released by:Warner Bros.



When Daniel Radcliffe starred in The Philosphers Stone, his paycheck was in the hundreds of thousands. Now his personal fortunes are in the tens of millions. It is representative of just how big these movies have become. They are capable of single handedly rescuing an annual box office, and none will do it better than The Goblet of Fire . Yet it must be said that so far these movies really haven't had to do much to make it big. As films, they're not masterpieces, but Warner Bros. knows they only really need to put the words Harry Potter in the title and they'll make a quick US$200 million. But whilst the opening weekends for these movies have grown, so far the final box office takings have lessened. All involved in The Goblet of Fire have perhaps realised that they needed to do more, to push these movies past cashing in on a name. It remains to be seen whether the Goblet of Fire has succeeded at this, for whilst it's an imporvement, it's still not a classic film.

You need to have read the book to follow this film, no blanks are filled in, very little is named or explained, so as a film, with a coherent storyline, it's not that great, but visually and for entertainment value, it's really very impressive. Some plot details are tragically overlooked and rushed, the Quidditch World Cup in particular recieved rather shabby treatment, though the little we did see of it was impressive. The scenes felt rushed at times, and yet the movie still went for 3 hours, its amazing how much still has been left out in a movie so long. It must be a daunting task to try and work out what you don't need when making a film such as this, and by and large the editors haven't done too bad a job. Alot of the time though you feel that things have been included for the sake of it, as they dont actually add to the story as such, but appear in the film because they were prominent in the book. Characters such as Rita Skeeter and Madam Maxime are left largely undeveloped but still appear nonetheless.

Of the three leads Emma Watson is once more standout as Hermione. She performs with a poise and elegance well beyond her years. She may be the most likely to have a career outside of Harry Potter. The banter between Harry and Ron feels forced and awkward, and this has much to do with the performances of Radcliffe and Grint, rather than the script. Radcliffe lacks the impressive screen presence that he needs to be a hero, and although Harry Potter is meant to be a bit of a nerd, Radcliffe just doesn't look like he's got it in him to be a hero. Rupert Grint shamelessly overacts as Ron. It was funny for a little while in Chamber of Secrets, but his hysterical squealing routine is becoming a little tiresome. Overall the rest of the cast of well known actors is once more tragically underused. If I were Alan Rickman I wouldn't want to be paid by the word, since he only gets about 7 lines in the film. Maggie Smith is obsolete, Miranda Richardson fares a little better, and Timothy Spall barely rates a mention. Michael Gambon as Dumbledore takes some getting used to, I find him almost distracting at times, given he's not usually prone to turns as a kindly headmaster. (cf. Life Aqautic with Steve Zissou, The Layer Cake.)

Ultimately, Goblet of Fire won't blow you away, and I still wish there were seven Lord of the Rings films, and only three of these. That said, it's entertaining and well meaning, if at times unsuitable for younger viewers. The scenes in the graveyard are genuinely sinister, it shows that the film makers are perhaps seeing the need for the films, as well as the actors, to get more of a grown up feel, much in the same manner as the books have progressively become more adult. Given the material and budget those invloved had to work with, you wouldn't really expect any less than this though. It's good, just not great, which you feel it could have been, if maybe things just slowed down a little. The story could have been more about the World Cup or the impending time of hardship, rather than focusing on an implied romance between Harry and Cho Chang (Katie Leung), which really wasn't such a huge part of the book. Still, it's Hollywood, it's Harry Potter and a good rule of thumb is to just sit back and enjoy it for what it is.


out of ten

Reviewed by Nick Bailey

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