Potter IV – Krum = Drago
November 22, 2005
OK, I haven’t read one single Harry Potter book. When I walk into a theater full of people with the colored scarves and the lightning bolts carved in their foreheads, I feel like I may be the only one. The general concensus for those crazy reader people is that this is a downgrade from Potter 3, but better than Potters 1+2. Since I haven’t read the source material, maybe I’m less sensitive to the changes, but Goblet of Fire worked a lot more than Azkaban.
There are clearly things getting dropped, the kids relationships being the most apparent, but for the most part it’s an intelligible straight-line plot that’s easy enough to follow. The cuts that feel the worst are the events that get built up and then get shuffled offscreen. I’m thinking mostly of the Quidditch World Cup and the first three champion’s dragon trials, which I doubt were even filmed due to cost and time issues. Still, the set pieces work, the cute character stuff is there and the adults are fine all around, from Brendan Gleeson and his wacky eye to Ralph Fiennes’ scene stealing reprise of Ultimate Evil. So hammy and awesome and he doesn’t even have a nose.
One thing that I am sort of tired of, which admittedly is the whole point of Harry Potter, are the moments where he stumbles across something, scoffs, and then shown that it is magic. "What’s with this boot?" "It’s a MAGIC BOOT." "This tent sucks." "It’s a MAGIC TENT." I don’t have a problem with people finding awe in magic, but mix up the beats a little bit.
Posted in Moving Pictures
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