Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with another happy review for HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. I'm seeing the fourth entry into the series this weekend and I am really friggin' excited for it. There are spoilers below, so if you haven't read the book... what the hell are you doing in here in the first place? You don't want to know some of the junk below... just know that the below reviewer really dug the movie and wants his own dragon to do... disgusting things with. For the rest of ya', enjoy the review!!!
Went to a screening of Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire last night at Warner Bros and was actually pleasantly surprised. I was 'meh' about the first two and pretty into the third, but I didn't have too much hope for Mike "Four Weddings and a Funeral" Newell to pull out a 2 1/2 hour fantasy epic. But you know what?
Newell made a sweet ass fantasy epic.
This was the first Potter that really had that Lord of the Rings feel. Many times while watching the film I thought to myself "someone's taking a page from Jackson's playbook", which is exactly what they should be doing to as this 'children's story' grows up into a 'teenage story'. Things are scarier, things are darker, and things are generally, more freaking awesome. On to the goods:
Dragons, dragons, dragons. Really freaking cool dragons. Best dragons ever? Not much competition on the table. But hands down, these looked sweet. Fire breathing, mean, dangerous, scary dragons. Great sound too, the whole theater shook when that horntail slammed it's tail down.
Also really awesome was the underwater sequence. It's been a few years since I read the book so I forget what they're called but the 'mer-people' were really great looking. Scary, mean little fish-men. The whole underwater sequence looked great and was definitely a highlight of the film.
Am I allowed to say Emily Watson is hot yet? Is she old enough? Whatever: she's hot. Prom scene? She looked stunning. She's a heartbreaker.
Okay and now for BIG BIG SPOILERS. Stop reading now if you don't want to find out who plays Voldemort!
In hands down the coolest scene since Darth's splash into lava at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Voldemort's birth is AMAZING. Downright classic film moment. Scary, creepy, dare I say...Darth Vader-ish. Okay, they cheated a little by actually having Vader's breathing sound playing during his birth (I swear it couldn't have sounded more similar) and basically Ralph Fiennes just looks like a younger version Vader with the helmet off at the end of Return of the Jedi but...oh did I say Ralph Fiennes? That's right....Ralph Fiennes plays Voldemort. Maybe this was old news to most, but I was amazed. Great casting! Can't wait to see him in the next three Potter pics.
**SPOILER AGAIN -- BUT COME ON WHO HASN'T READ THIS BOOK** The death of Cedric Diggory at the end of the film brought little man-tears to my eyes. It's really touching... and sad. Watching his father scream with agony was a totally non-potter feeling moment -- it was a movie moment, a human moment, which is EXACTLY what this franchise needs. You really feel for the characters in this one. I give Newell full credit for making me totally care this time around.
Overall a standup job by all involved. Really good film. Even if you've never seen a Potter film or read a Potter book, you'll like this one. It's dark, messed up, spooky, sad, touching and, often, really freaking awesome. Hell, even some of the the sets screamed Lord of the Rings. It really had that 'built-by-hand' fantasy epic feel which Jackson does so well. But mostly:
Dragons people. Dragons.
Really awesome.
Signed,
WhiteEyeLid
