Is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie really upto the mark?
Gone are the days of Jurassic Park movies where the dinosaurs would haunt movie goers in their dreams. Gone are the days of Star Wars series where Dart Vader is voted as the sexiest villain in the world of fiction movies. Gone are the days where animated movies caused a sharp rise in the box office collection and the movie goers. Enter the fiction world of Harry Potter which causes a stir among the avid fans of J. K. Rowling’s fant-a-bulous (fantastic and fabulous) series of Harry Potter. Enter the new hero called Harry Potter who has fascinated the people of all age groups and compelled them to watch the movies right from part one. Harry Potter is the story of “The Boy Who Lived”. He is so called because, according to the writer J. K. Rowling in her fiction series, no one has stayed alive from the curse of Lord Voldemort-the so called greatest sorcerer in the world of fiction.
The first part of the series of seven starts with a young Harry Potter realising that he is a wizard. He joins the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and fighting with Lord Voldemort to save the philosopher’s stone (or call it the elixir of life). The second part emphasis on how Harry Potter proves his mettle by saving his friends from the Basilisk and Tom Riddle (the muggle name of Lord Voldemort) in the Chambers of Secrets. The third part showcases on the encounter of Harry Potter with his Godfather and the real traitor of his parents i.e. Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail – who incidentally was one of the best friends of James Potter i.e. Harry’s father). Now comes the most awaited part of the series called Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The movie had created a hype among the Harry Potter fans much before its release by publicising that its a quite dark film which would show Harry Potter in a much different way than he was in the last three series. But after watching movie I think whether it is a different movie than the previous three prequels! Is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie really upto the mark? Has the movie justified the hard work of J. K. Rowling?
Well… The movie starts off with Frank Bryce, the gardener of the Riddle family, entering the Riddle house and listening to the conversation between Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort. However, it is a surprise to find Barty Crouch Junior in the scene because, according to the book, he enters the scenerio only when Harry enters the Pensive in Albus Dumbledore’s office. Frank Bryce is killed by Lord Voldemort which makes Harry’s scar experiencing immense pain. But what is Harry doing in the Burrow instead of Privet Drive? The Weasleys invite Harry for the Quidditch World Cup and arrive at Privet Drive where Fred and George Weasley play prank on Harry’s Uncle and Aunt. Why is this fun missing in the film? Then comes the Quidditch World Cup. Hats off to the director for making one of the most memorable scenes in the movie by showing the stadium and fireworks. But it would have been good enough to show some excerpts of the match too. It is strange that Winky (the house-elf of Crouch) is absent in the whole movie. The movie does not show that Harry Potter is taken to the ministry since the ministry thinks that Harry Potter set the Dark Mark. The scenes of the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students have been shot superbly. Also the other scenes like the goblet of fire and the names of four champions have been superbly executed. The three tasks show that the director has had enough creavity to shoot that scene. However the absence of Hermione constituting the House-Elf Liberation Front from the movie depresses the book readers. It is also sad to see that Sirius Black has appeared only once in the movie as he meets Harry at least thrice in the book. Barty Crouch Senior is dead but it is unexplained why hasn’t this been shown because the actual suspense starts from this point itself. Victor Krum is attacked by Barty Crouch senior before he is dead but this too has been deleted. The dream that Harry sees during the classroom of Professor Trewlawney isn’t shown in the movie. Also, the scene of the Pensive shows a different story than it is read in the book. The death of Cedric Diggory was supposed to be the most scariest scene. However, it did not turn out so. The movie showcases the superb sequence of Lord Voldemort getting ressurected, the duel between Harry and Voldemort, Harry rescuing Cedric’s body, etc. According to the book, Mad-Eye Moody is rescued and the story of Barty Crouch Junior is revealed but this has been not-so-cleverly edited in the movie. It also does not show that Harry hands over his prize money to Fred and George for their business purpose. It also does not show much about Rita Skeeter who is trapped in the jar bottle for posing as a beetle.
On the whole, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire is a good movie but not as exciting as the book does. And the moral of the story is that the film has not justified the hard work of J. K. Rowling’s book series of Harry Potter.