Meg Reviews Harry Potter

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It's a foggy Saturday morning, and I have a five-hour shift this afternoon at Mervyn's, but for now, I can relax a bit and drink my hot chocolate while I review Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

If asked to describe this movie in one word, I would have to say, "Fantastic!" And it was. Book Four had to be hard to write into a screenplay--it could easily have been a 4-hour movie if they didn't cut a few things here and there. The most noticable cuts are, of course, no Dursleys, no Pompous Percy, no Gary Oldman (except for the face in the fire) and no Julie Walters (a shame, because I love Mrs. Weasely).

Still, I can forgive these cuts because they are not the most important part of the story--there's a lot of meat to cover with the TriWizard challenges, the Yule Ball and Teen Angst, and, of course, the return of the Death Eaters.

I'll get my pithy complaints out of the way first:

Girl Sobbing on Stairs

This just doesn't strike me as very Hermione-like. After the ball when she and Ron fight, the tears in her eyes were a surprise to me. I've just checked the book and sure enough, she doesn't cry. She's certainly pissed off, but she doesn't cry. And she storms off in the book--she doesn't sit on the stairs and cry and throw her shoes around.

That said, I can understand that they had to interpret her for the film. This is just the director's interpretation of what a normal teenage girl would do after a fight with a boy she has a deep-rooted crush on. But Hermione has never been a normal girl, and the tears seemed a bit over the top to me.

A-Maze-Ing

In the book, there's all this lead-up to the three tasks of the Triwizard Tournament. The movie follows along quite nicely. We see Hagrid showing Harry the dragons, then Cedric giving Harry a clue about how to listen to his golden egg. Then there is absolutely no lead-up to the third task. It just kind of crops up out of nowhere, and that disrupted the flow a teeny bit for me. But really, this is such a small complaint.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No, It's a Hungarian Horntail!

The Harry Potter movies are wonderful but all of the directors seem to like adding huge actions scenes where they wouldn't normally be. For example, in Prizoner of Azkaban, Harry and Hermione went for a wild ride in the Whomping Willow, which does not happen in the book. And in this one, Harry's dragon in the first challenge breaks loose an chases Harry all over Hogwarts. They go slipping and sliding and tumbling all over the towers of the castle. Harry holds onto a window ledge for dear life.

All very exciting and dramatic, but also unnecessary, really. The scene was dramatic enough when the dragon was still chained up and Harry got in under it to get the egg. Didn't make sense to me to change it that much.

But again, this is just a pithy complaint.

Enough complaining, though. Here's what I loved:

1. Teen Angst

These kids were so REAL! They could be any of the teens I've encountered in my teaching career. Every little "bloody hell" from Ron...perfect. The moment when Harry calls Ron a git...perfect (git, by the way is a term I started using in England because a friend of mine at the school was always calling the students, "little gits"). The way the students tease and torment Harry with the "Potter Stinks" buttons...perfect.

The Patil twins were excellent in their, "Why, oh WHY did we come with these two goofballs?" expressions. Cedric was perfect in his Big Man on Campus, Noble Hero-type role. Cho Chang--adorable. Though her Scottish accent threw me a little.

The group of giggling girls that follows Krum around and the way the gals start eyeing Harry is great. They're definitely growing up, and the hormones are brewing faster than any potion a wizard could devise.

And when Harry spits water all over himself? Priceless. Priceless. Priceless.

The Best Minor Characters

Ginny. Fred and George. Moaning Myrtle. Neville.

I'll start with Ginny. The little gal playing her is adorable! And I love her character in the books, anyway, especially as they progress and she becomes more and more confident. She didn't play a huge role in this book and movie, but her little one-liners and zingers were great comic relief. I'm so glad they didn't play down her role in the movie.

Fred and George. Rowling surely put these two in the books to counter the sadness and drama. Every story needs a bit of comic relief and I'm so glad the director kept these two active in the movie. They give that needed punch of humor. I'm just fond of the whole Weasely family in general, though, except, of course, Percy. Who isn't?

Moaning Myrtle. As played by the excellent Shirley Henderson (remember Jude, best friend of Bridget Jones and crying girlfriend of Vile Richard? Yep, same actress), Moaning Myrtle is annoying, naughty and hysterical all at once. Poor Harry! Just trying to have a peaceful bath so he can hear the clue and he's got a horny ghost trying to sneak a peek at him! Too funny.

Neville. Mark my words, this kid is destined for great things. Ever since he had the courage to stand up for his friends in the first book, I have had a soft spot for poor Neville Longbottom. It has only grown as I've read the books and seen what happened to him in the past and the courage he displays later in the series. He's another character I'm glad they didn't play down in the movies. His reaction to the Cruciatus Curse and his knowledge of Herbology are important to the story, of course, but more than that, he's just such a great character. He's the nerdy, akward little boy who's going to turn into a hell of a grown up. I love an underdog!

The Pensive

I just have to add that when we first see Dumbledore taking a thought out of his head and putting it in the Pensieve, I had a feeling of deja vu. But that's impossible--we haven't seen the Pensieve before this movie. Turns out I had that feeling because that is EXACTLY how I always pictured it in my head. Excellent.

New Characters and Old Friends

A lot of these were vastly underused--we never see how truly bad Karkaroff is, or how lovely and enticing Fleur is. Krum doesn't have more than a few lines that aren't grunts, and Rita Skeeter is just a minor annoyance instead of the huge trouble-maker she was in the book.

Madame Maxime is definitely funny, though, that whole eating-out-of-Hagrid's-beard scene was a bit disturbing.

Mad-Eye Moody/Barty Crouch Jr. was pretty much as I expected him to be, except for the strap holding the eye on. The little lip-licking thing was definitely effective and creepy.

McGonagal is woderful as ever, as was Snape. He had just enough presence to continue being sinister and unlikeable. I was sorry to see less of Hagrid than in previous movies, but his role in the story is changing now.

I was so glad to see a little more presence from minor characters like Angelina Johnson, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, the Patil twins, etc. Even if we don't really see much of them, they are acknowledged, and that's good.

And, of course, Harry, Ron and Hermione. The director pulled off the changing chemistry between these three very well (except for Hermione crying on the stairs). The little tiffs and fights, the akward moments, the way they all realize that they are growing up and don't know what to do about it--all of these things come through in the acting.

Little Tidbits I Loved

1. "Bloody Hell!" The way Ron says this always makes me laugh.

2. Draco Malfoy as a ferret. Pricless.

3. Gryfindor Common Room set: Perfect. Exactly as I imagined it in my head.

4. "Put your hand on my waist." "Where??" I was laughing like mad at that bit...

5. ...and, of course, at how the girls all jumped up to dance and the boys sat there looking horrified.

6. Ron's horrid dress robes. Need I say more?

7. Special Effects: Superb, of course.

The Sad and Scary Bits

The opening to the movie was perfect, with the snake coming home to master and the death of the caretaker. It is fantastic that we don't actually see Voldemort at that point--it heightens the anticipation.

Speaking of anticipation, I had major goosebumps for the last twenty or thirty minutes of the movie! It was so well-done.

Ralph Fiennes was perfect as Voldemort. Sinister, creepy, snake-like (and not just because of the lack of nose) and very, very evil.

Harry is awesome in that scene, too. So courageous and angry! The whole scene was beautifully filmed and directed, though, of course, the best part was when the images of the last few people Voldemort killed emerge from his wand and speak to Harry. Any time his parents make an appearance of any kind in these stories is moving, but helping him escape Voldemort again was just lovely and sad and very, very effective.

Cedric--what can I say? I cried a tear or two when he told Harry to take his body back to his family, and when Harry started crying, and again, when Amos Diggory realizes his son is dead.

After these things, the end of the movie seemed a bit rushed. Though I could definitely see how Harry is struggling--which will, of course, continue in the next movie.

Overall Verdict

I loved it. There were things that didn't seem quite right but overall, I loved the movie and can't wait to see it again. There were things that were left out or diminished, but I understand that putting a huge book into a 2.5 hour movie is incredibly difficult, so I can forgive that.

Now...bring on the next one!!