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After
three Potter films, while it's fun to
see little kids having fun doing magic
and playing Quidditch, isn't it about
time Harry Potter fans get treated to
a darker, more serious story? The answer
is yes. With this being the first one
with a PG-13 rating, we finally get the
Potter film audiences have been waiting
to see.
In
this fourth film in the series (based
on the fourth book by J.K. Rowling), we
have yet another new director at the helm:
Mike Newell. Best known for his romantic
comedy, Four Weddings and a Funeral,
Newell brings a fresh new spin on the
characters that brings them out of childhood
and into the realm of true teenage life
- with the exception of them being wizards
and witches, of course. Not only do Harry
Potter and the gang have to face trials
of the supernatural, but also young love.
This
time around, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe)
has been having dreams of his arch nemesis,
Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), and his
sidekicks trying to bring him back to
full bodily form. Meanwhile, Hogwarts
school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has
been selected out of other similar schools
around the world to host the Tri-Wizard
Tournament - a contest in which three
students from various Wizard schools,
whose names are selected from the Goblet
of Fire, will endure three dangerous trials
until one person wins. This time, however,
a fourth name gets picked - Harry's. The
twist is that he's only 14 years old,
and contestants must be at least 17. The
Goblet magically accepts names of people
who are old enough, and prevents anyone
too young to enter. But, since all names
selected are under a binding contract,
Harry must go through with the contest,
facing trials that could ultimately kill
him. Who put his name in, and why? That's
ultimately the plot of the entire film.
With contests consisting of dragons, under-water
sea creatures, and an enormous maze where
inside, people have been known to go mad
- this is a film audiences are bound to
have a lot of fun with. And to top it
all off, Voldemort is on the loose, getting
closer to tranforming himself into full
flesh and blood, and seeking his revenge
on Harry Potter by aid of scary, black-robed
figures known as "Death Eaters."
Exciting stuff.
Aside
from facing death in the contests and
with Voldemort, Harry, along with friends
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (Rupert
Grint and Emma Watson, respectively),
must face young love at the Yule Ball
- a sort of "prom night" for
witches and wizards, which is held at
every Tri-Wizard Tournament. This film
is much funnier than the previous three,
and this part has its share of good laughs.
This was needed very much, since the rest
of the film is quite dark. Young teenagers
in love for the first time is always funny,
and Mike Newell does a great job in balancing
the humor and the darker moments of this
film. I got the most laughs out of this
film than any of the last three, making
this the most enjoyable of the Potter
films.
And
for the first time, the dialogue and acting
didn't seem repetitive, obvious or overdone.
The first two films had this problem,
and the third was just starting to get
a handle on it. All the characters felt
real and alive in this film to the point
where we forget they're actors and are
never taken out of the story. We especially
get a great performance from Emma Watson
at the Yule Ball, where she confronts
Ron about not asking her to the dance.
Saying that, all of the young actors in
this film seemed to have greatly matured
in their acting abilities, particularly
Radcliffe and Watson. I was pleasantly
surprised at Radcliffe's ability to convey
emotion this time around when faced with
the death of one of the characters.
Of
course, this movie has great set-pieces,
exciting action and wonderful special
effects. The dragons make you jump out
of your seat, the sea-creatures are beautiful,
and the epic landscapes extend far beyond
what we've seen in the previous films.
We even get to briefly visit the Quidditch
World Cup in the beginning of the film,
where we're treated to a massive stadium
filled with people watching Quidditch
players from around the world (although
we don't get to see them compete in this
film).
New
characters are introduced as well. Along
with new villians who will not be named
in this review, we also get the humorous
Alastor 'MadEye' Moody (Brendan Gleeson),
with one eye that bulges out and moves
independently from the other, who tends
to be militant in his teaching of the
Dark Arts, but innocently so. In one of
the funniest scenes in the film, he picks
on Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), turning
him into a ferret - a scene that will
make any Harry Potter fan cheer.
Another
funny character introduced is Rita Skeeter,
played by Miranda Richardson (Sleepy
Hollow, Phantom of the Opera).
Skeeter is a flighty journalist for the
Daily Prophet whose antics make us wonder
how she ever got hired in the first place.
She messes up various facts about the
people she interviews and the stories
she publishes, creating more gossip than
actual fact. This of course adds yet another
much needed touch of humor to this seemingly
dark tale.
Adapting
a 700+ page book would seem to be a daunting
task. Perhaps it was. However this film
shows no sign of it. The story flows smoothly,
with the characters and plot being simple
to follow. I greatly admire that the characters
grow up with each film. It allows the
films to mature and get darker, with the
characters facing more dangerous and disturbing
situations and more sinister truths being
revealed. For the first time, I actually
went to see a Harry Potter film twice
in the theater.
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(out of four)
