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Thoughts: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a little disappointing. It is had some issues with the pacing and an unnecessary sub plot. It started good because it did not open with Harry's annoying adopted family since he does not live there any more. I expected it to be better since it was the first Harry Potter movie to be rated PG-13 but it was not as good as the Prisoner of Azkaban. While it was not as dark as the other one some of the characters acted out of character and the plot was not as interesting. It started decent but again a little slow. Basically the plot is about Harry compeating in the Triwizard Tournament so I expected there a lot of focus on the Tournament. It was going good after the first competing in the Tournament but about an hour into the movie it added a boring School dance. I was thinking "How did a dumb High School drama get put in an fantasy adventure!?" I know that they are now teenagers but it was really unnecessary. It was very awkward and did not fit the other parts of the movie. It was almost like a romantic comedy at some parts. I know it was in the book Also the character but could have been cut to a 10 or 15 minute part and not wast 30 minutes. Ron Weasley really acted out of character. Although there really some really good parts to the movie that showed the potential of the franchise. The last 30 minutes of the movie was much better than the other parts. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire felt like a filler movie Warning Spoiler: to resurrect Lord Voldemort for the sequels but that was by far the part of the movie. The maze near end and duel between Harry and Voldemort were the best parts. Also some scenes had a little dialogue corny. Despite these issues there were some good things in the movie. The special effects were great especially for a movie made in 2005. The effects were better than some I have seen in an 2008 movie. It also had more action than the previous movies but that really is not saying since the other three are not action movies. There was again a decent mystery component but it was not really difficult to figure out compared to the Prisoner of Azkaban. While the Prisoner of Azkaban was a movie that could appeal to most demographics (age group) yet the Goblet of Fire was aimed more at the young teen demographic than a movie that is appealing to any demographic.
Directed by: Mike Newell
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure,
Release Date: November 18, 2005
Running Time: 157 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13
The Good: Some parts of the movie were very good , Good ending,
The Bad: Unbalanced, Unnecessary subplot,
Plot: The following plot summery is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Harry Potter dreams of an elderly man, Frank Bryce, who overhears Lord Voldemort discussing plans with Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr. Bryce is then killed by Voldemort. The Quidditch World Cup allows Harry to take his mind off his nightmares until followers of Voldemort known as Death Eaters terrorise the spectators' campsites after the match.
At Hogwarts, headmaster Albus Dumbledore introduces Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, unaware that Crouch Jr has subdued Moody and is using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate him. In their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, the students learn of the three Unforgivable Curses. The Imperius Curse causes absence of free will, the Cruciatus Curse causes unbearable pain, and the final curse, Avada Kedavra, causes death. Dumbledore announces that the school will host the Triwizard Tournament, in which one wizard from each of the three magical schools competes in three challenges. The champions are selected by the Goblet of Fire, a magical cup into which the candidates' names are placed. Cedric Diggory, a student from the House of Hufflepuff, is chosen to represent Hogwarts, Viktor Krum is chosen to represent Durmstrang Institute, and Fleur Delacour is selected to represent Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The Goblet unexpectedly chooses a fourth champion: Harry. As Harry is underage and should have been ineligible to compete, Hogwarts teachers and students grow suspicious, and the feat drives Ron and Harry apart. The teachers want Dumbledore to pull Harry out of the tournament, but the four champions are bound by a magical contract and therefore Dumbledore has no choice and Harry must compete. Watch the movie to see what happens next.
Plot: 7.1/10- The plot was mixed with some unnecessary plot threads and not enough focus on the Triwizard Tournament. But the end was really the only important part of the movie.
Action: 6.9/10- This is the first Harry Potter movie to have a prolonged action scene and it showed the potential of the action the Harry Potter franchise can deliver. But I wished it show the other competiors in the Triwizard Tournament in the first test, which would have made great scenes.
Acting: 7.5/10- While I do not think it is the falt of the actors but more of the director and writers the acting was not as good the Prisoner of Azkaban mostly because the dialouge was not as well written yet the acting was still very good.
Special effects: 8.4/10- The special effects were really good and hold up very today.
Soundtrack: 8.0/10- The soundtrack was very good and used many of the same notes that John Williams used in the previous movies but the lack of Williams is definitely noticable.
Comedy: 7.8/10- The Goblet of Fire did have a lot of humor yet some of the humor fell flat into bad romantic comedy.
Would I Watch This Again: I might at some point but not really any time soon.
Overall: 7.0/10- Overall Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a good movie but was not takken seriously enough with some odd character changes and odd moments. Although it was still a funny movie.
Closing comments: While the Harry Potter franchise took two steps forward with Prisoner of Azkaban it took one step back with the Goblet of Fire.
Recommended for: Fantasy fans, Adventure fans,
If you have not read my reviews for the other Harry Potter movies please click on the links below.
Harry Potter Series
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone Review
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Review.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Review.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Review.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Review
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Review
Click here to check out more of our movie reviews.
If you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.
I've really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on all the Harry Potter films, James! Especially since I know your opinion is flat out honest. An-already-Harry-fan reviewing the films would have a hard time not be biased about them! :D From everything I'd heard, Harry Potter sounded like this super glorious, ubber amazing "MUST WATCH" series, so your reviews have definitely brought them back to earth a little bit! Haha!
ReplyDelete~Jamie
I agree with you pretty much on this review. The duel scene and the maze were definitely the best part of the film. The fourth was probably my least favorite HP movie, especially since it wasn't as good as the book, which I really enjoyed and that they left so much out(but then the book was over 700 pages but five did better and that book was longer). I also agree, badly done romance is super annoying(though luckily, it isn't that annoying later in the series).
ReplyDeleteP.S. Harry is still living with his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin; he must live with them until he is seventeen so he can be protected from Voldemort(this isn't revealed in the films, so it's all right if i tell you now). His aunt, uncle, and cousin pop up briefly in the fifth film but that's about all you'll see of them.
@Jamie: Thanks. :) That is one of the reasons I am reviewing the movies. To give an un-bais opinon of the movies.
ReplyDelete@Shena Tokala: I am glad it only gets better from here. :)
Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the info.
-James