I'd really like some homemade soup right now
The following comments do not contain any plot spoilers and therefore remain un-cut.
While not quite to the category of "complete and utter flop," Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a disappointment in my eyes. I'm still trying to understand why everyone else seems so enamored with it.
While I understand that this book was thicker than those earlier in the series, the piles on the cutting room floor must have been taller than Mount Everest. So much was missing from this movie that it not only felt rushed, but lacked transitions. In one moment, the minister is announcing the commencement of the first task, and then the scene flashes to the announcer saying that the first three champions have finished competing. What? Could we have not had thirty seconds of each of them in the first task? The disjointed nature of the film paled by comparison to Cuarón's Prisoner of Azkaban, which was more aesthetically pleasing and felt like an honest-to-God film.
Goblet of Fire was so rushed that we never got to know any of the characters outside of the trio. Who were the other Tri-Wizard Champions? Did Fleur honestly only have two lines? How could we mourn the death of Cedric when we never got more than a glimpse into who he was as a person? I fear that Sirius' death will have less of an impact in Order of the Phoenix because the viewer was not exposed to him in this movie. I tried forcing my emotional involvement in the story, but I could not succeed without relying on what I'd read in the books because the characters were never allowed to develop. Some of the other minor characters were fantastic-Rita Skeeter was perfectly cast, Neville has never been more adorable, and Fred and George's Quidditch victory dance made my day-but even those near-cameos were not enough. "Insights" into the Wizarding World were also few and far between, yet part of my love for the series stems from not-so-secretly wishing I was a witch and lived in the playground of Rowling's imagination.
It also occurs to me that I may not have enjoyed the movie as much because it wasn't a midnight showing. When I am over-tired and hyper, bouncing around the cinema lobby in anticipation with like-minded fans, I'm bound to be less critical than when I watch the movie during daylight hours surrounded by a less-responsive audience.
The movie could have been worse, I know. The trio's acting is steadily improving, and some scenes were well-executed such as ferret!Draco. I understand that 2.5 hours is a long time to sit still, especially for a child, but I feel like the quality of the movie could have been vastly improved with only an extra half-hour of footage to lessen the pace. I want Cuarón back...
While not quite to the category of "complete and utter flop," Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a disappointment in my eyes. I'm still trying to understand why everyone else seems so enamored with it.
While I understand that this book was thicker than those earlier in the series, the piles on the cutting room floor must have been taller than Mount Everest. So much was missing from this movie that it not only felt rushed, but lacked transitions. In one moment, the minister is announcing the commencement of the first task, and then the scene flashes to the announcer saying that the first three champions have finished competing. What? Could we have not had thirty seconds of each of them in the first task? The disjointed nature of the film paled by comparison to Cuarón's Prisoner of Azkaban, which was more aesthetically pleasing and felt like an honest-to-God film.
Goblet of Fire was so rushed that we never got to know any of the characters outside of the trio. Who were the other Tri-Wizard Champions? Did Fleur honestly only have two lines? How could we mourn the death of Cedric when we never got more than a glimpse into who he was as a person? I fear that Sirius' death will have less of an impact in Order of the Phoenix because the viewer was not exposed to him in this movie. I tried forcing my emotional involvement in the story, but I could not succeed without relying on what I'd read in the books because the characters were never allowed to develop. Some of the other minor characters were fantastic-Rita Skeeter was perfectly cast, Neville has never been more adorable, and Fred and George's Quidditch victory dance made my day-but even those near-cameos were not enough. "Insights" into the Wizarding World were also few and far between, yet part of my love for the series stems from not-so-secretly wishing I was a witch and lived in the playground of Rowling's imagination.
It also occurs to me that I may not have enjoyed the movie as much because it wasn't a midnight showing. When I am over-tired and hyper, bouncing around the cinema lobby in anticipation with like-minded fans, I'm bound to be less critical than when I watch the movie during daylight hours surrounded by a less-responsive audience.
The movie could have been worse, I know. The trio's acting is steadily improving, and some scenes were well-executed such as ferret!Draco. I understand that 2.5 hours is a long time to sit still, especially for a child, but I feel like the quality of the movie could have been vastly improved with only an extra half-hour of footage to lessen the pace. I want Cuarón back...