Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire (2005)
reviewed by Brian "The Naked Gun" Felts
& Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire brings us to Hogwarts in the fourth year for Harry Potter and once
again, things are not right. Harry is having dreams/premonitions about Valdemort. He is also dealing
with being entered into a competition that tests his wizardry at a level he is not yet ready for. Most
importantly, Harry and the rest of the gang, have to deal with their growing maturity and the feelings
that they have for each other, and ultimately Harry having to face Valdemort alone.
I found this story to be very good and Steve Kloves did a great job of scripting this movie. I love the
teenage angst that is in the movie. When the girls from the all woman witchcraft school come dancing in,
the faces and expressions on Harry, played by Danielle Radcliffe, and Ron, played by Rupert Gint, were
priceless. Even the expression by Hermione, played by Emma Watson, with her look of shock and borderline
contempt of the boys paying so much attention to the girls, was also wonderful. The language that was
used in the script was what made the teenage angst so very good. The scene between Harry and Ron, when
Harry is trying to explain that he did not enter the contest and that he doesn't know what is going on,
while Ron is full of jealousy and there by ignoring and not trusting what Harry is saying is wonderful.
The whole point is that this movie can very easily translate to the early teenagers today when they start
experiencing these emotions for the first time and the difficulties that they have dealing with them.
That is what makes this movie so special.
However, mentioning this character brings me to the only problem of the movie. Yet it's not the
problem of the screenwriter, but the author J.K. Rowling. This is the fourth installment in which
there is something wrong with the teacher of the defense of the dark arts. Can't someone else be
the bad guy? I mean they are either bad, cowardly, or a werewolf. I wish Rowling would have changed
up the bad guys. Oh well.
Apparently there are a few plot holes, but I will have faith in the writer(s) that those questions will be
answered in the next movie. I say go see this movie with the kids, it will be highly entertaining to
watch the kids on the screen, and the kids in the audience dealing with these emotions.
Brian - the Naked Gun
This was my least favorite Harry Potter installment, mostly because there was so much material that was unexplained, and the story editing was choppy.
For example: during the ball scene, we are given closer with Hermione walking away crying. THEN the very next scene has Ron leaving the ballroom and Hermione following him, chewing his ass off for something. I think we missed a scene somewhere, cause what did Ron tell her? There were a few sequences chopped apart like that and it was extremely distracting.
Some of the things that weren't explained in the movie were, why did Voldemort take the form of a little crack baby at the start of the film? It is important to everyone that he doesn't take a flesh form, so how did he? We never find out. I asked a Harry Potter reader and aparently we don't find out the way the lord's followers brought him back until two Potter books later. It's no excuse for me. A movie needs to stand on its own, give us reason for breaking a line of establishment.
I also couldn't figure out what the death eaters did for a living? Do they just walk around setting fire to stuff? I knew a couple of guys in high school like that. I also found out in that scene of the book, the death eaters were walking through the camp killing mud-bloods, like Hermione. That would have been good to know.
We are never told by Voldemort needs Harry's blood for the ritual that helps him take an adult form again. Turns out, it was so he could touch Harry and kill him, unlike the first movie where he burned himself touching touching Potter. That would have been good to know also.
The film is littered with reasonless material and it keeps me from getting really into it.
I LOVED Ralph Fiennes as the first adult Voldemort we get to see. The growing pains between the main trio of characters was fun to watch and provided a few laughs, but the rest of the film lacked intensity and mystery.
Overall, this new Potter flick is fairly enjoyable, but not well made. "Chamber of Secrets" is still my favorite.
Benn - Where's the Humanity?
Dragons, fire, magic, love, and death, things that make this installment of Harry Potter very enjoyable.
I was much more engaged by the story and I continue to like the acting and thought the kids did a great
job of showing the early teenage angst that comes with kids discovering their sexuality. The Harry Potter
franchise has rebounded nicely from the previous movie and is a must see for children of all ages, believe
it or not.