GOBLET OF FIRE

I managed to catch "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" this afternoon. I had to miss out on seeing it with family members after my lovely illness last Friday, so I saw it by myself this afternoon. You know, I've actually caught quite a few movies at the theater this year, more than I usually get to anyway. This was #7 (following "Star Wars," "Fantastic Four," "The Wedding Crashers," "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," "Serenity," and "Chicken Little" - guess how I saw that one!) and I will probably finish with an eighth ("King Kong," anyone?). Anyway, back to today's movie...

GOF was definitely my favorite of the Potter books at the time of its publication and may still be my favorite of the series. It is definitely the turning point for the whole series (and if you don't want to be spoiled on anything Potter, please stop reading now), showing a much more mature side of things and keeping the darker nature that was introduced in the previous book through the character of Sirius Black. It was also the longest book (since surpassed by book 5) and the movie producers had originally talked about splitting the story into two movies. Obviously, they didn't and I think it worked out this way.

I thought screenwriter Steve Kloves did a good job condensing the story to the parts that needed to be told to keep things coherent. In the book, the opening at the Quidditch World Cup takes up many pages but here they just get to the salient points - the introduction of Viktor Krum and the return of the Death Eaters. From there, the movie goes right to the arrival of the students from other schools and the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament forms the spine of the movie, with all of the other events feeding in and out of the three challenges.

Director Mike Newell does a good job with the intercutting, capturing both the special effects granduer of the challenges and the small moments of character and plot development. He also handle the budding sexuality of the characters well - the kids aren't just wizard but boys and girls who have to go to dances and have dates. Newell also highlights the humor present in those situations. In fact, this is the funniest Potter movie...I laughed many times.

The performances are good as well. Brendan Gleeson is marvelous as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, "Mad Eye" Moody. Ralph Fiennes plays the now-returned Lord Voldemort and it's not just a scenery-chewing performance. And as always, the three main kids are great. Rupert Grint tends to steal the show as Ron Weasley but Emma Watson is right there with her pitch-perfect Hermione Granger. And Daniel Radcliffe does a great job inheriting the persona of Harry Potter. Can't imagine anyone else doing it.

So, my favorite book become my favorite movie. Not surprising. But for the second film in a row, the movie stands as a work of its own and not just a companion to the book. Of course, it's better if you read the books. It's always better if you read the books. Doesn't mean you can't watch the movie too.