Film Gecko

Potterites Rejoice! Goblet of Fire Opens This Weekend

by Erin Harvey on November 18th, 2005

Today is pretty much Harry Potter day at movie blogs, movie magazines, and movie shows wherever you look. Ten foot high Daniel Radcliffe’s stare sternly at you from the side of cineplexes, and Rupert Grint’s impishly red hair gleams out in the dreary November grey from bus shelters and shopping malls. And thank god for the movie industry. Potter-time couldn’t have come at a better time for the ailing industry, as attendence numbers are bound to blow opening weekends from the past several months right out of the water.

The fourth installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, opens everywhere today to the delight of children and middle aged fan-folk alike. Critics have been tripping over themselves trying to out-rave each other in praise of the boy wizard, and many feel that the Goblet of Fire is the best Harry Potter movie yet. Relieving news to be sure, for new director Mike Newell, who faced the pressure of continuing a franchise of massive fame and fortune. Not everyone though, has had terribly nice things to say about Harry. Most of the criticism appears to land at the feet of writer Steven Kloves, though to his credit, it’s acknowledged that Goblet of Fire is not the strongest, or most well received of the Potter series.

Goblet of Fire covers Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts and showcases both the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament, in which competitors from three different wizarding schools compete in a series of increasingly challenging contests. The competitors are selected by the Goblet of Fire, which contrary to tradition, spits out four names instead of three (can you guess who the extra is?). Harry’s life is never easy and while he prepares for the tournament Voldemort and his Death Eaters are gaining strength and the appearance of the Dark Mark evidences the Dark Lord’s return.

There’s no denying that J.K. Rowling’s books have an opaquely formulaic feel to them. Every one sees us learn a little more about Harry’s parents, a little more about Hogwarts and a dazzling grand challenge where Harry must overcome some sort of inner turmoil to emerge victorious. You know what though….I like them. I’ve wasted too many hours reading books and watching movies that thought themselves to be something they weren’t. Rowling has an excellent thing going, and a fan-base that appreciates both her characters and her stories. I would not say that they were great pieces of literature, but as a series, they have done more for adolescent reading in this digital decade than any other.

I am concerned about the movies however; with their director-in, director-out tendencies it makes it difficult to keep any kind of cohesive feel to the visual representations of the stories. I will admit that out of the three previous films, Prisoner of Azkaban was by far my least favourite. I didn’t care about the whole Sirius and Remus storyline, I did not like the feel of the movie, and as a result was rather bored. I’m hoping that Newell will be able to bring a little life back into the show, and paint Harry as more of a human being than a flat character with a fancy destiny. I also worry that CGI might be overtaking the films, making them more into a computer game than a live action piece. My worries were not helped by the trailer, which although visually impressive, was largely taken up by a big ole dragon. Turns out my fears may not have been misplaced, as several reviewers have docked the movie points for over-reliance on fake imagery. Says Kyle Smith of the New York Post:

Fine for people of developing minds, but the story so often stops its forward motion to take us on long detours into the land of CGI effects that it amounts to a $150 million magic show.

You could argue that all movies are in essence magic shows, and what movie better than one about a world of wizards could better highlight the abilities of Hollywood studios to make an entire world come to life. Fair enough. I just want to see some character development to go along with the splashy effects (which have been superb thus far). I have a feeling, despite these shady misgivings, that Potter fans are in for a treat. We’ll have to wait and see what folks say after the weekend.

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POSTED IN: Family, Drama