Cheer for the Victor: Rethinking Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

There is one sentiment that seems to hold true among my friends and I regarding the fourth film in the Harry Potter series. That is that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not a great film. With its apparent overacting and disregard for one of the most entertaining sequences in the novel the film has left us cold and unsatisfied  at every re-watching. Thus was my thought as I settled in to watch all the Harry Potter films this Saturday
                Yet something intriguing happened, as I watched Dumbledore speak to the students of Hogwarts about eternal glory and the challenges that lie ahead in the Tri-Wizard tournament. I understood. I understood why the acting was punched up to 11, and why everyone seemed to be yelling at no one in particular. And I understood why everyone looked like beefed up rugby players. This is not a Harry Potter film I thought,  this is the greatest rugby match ever played.
                The whole film is the Tri-Wizard tournament, from its opening ceremonies to Harry's final confrontation with Voldemort. The film  mirrors, the very best sporting events. It has an opening ceremony, an introduction of competitors and a first and second half.
                For fans of the novel one of the most glaring omissions is that of the Quidditch World Cup. The filmmakers seem to taunt the audience when they allow them to see the opening ceremony of the Wizarding world's biggest sporting event but nothing else. Why is this? When Cornelius Fudge booms "And let the games begin". He Is in a sense  not opening the Quidditch World Cup, he is in fact opening the Tri-Wizard tournament.
                Director Mike Newell, and screenwriter Steve Kloves uses this particular structure to great effect. everything is heightened in this realm of competition and excitement. It is almost as if the audience is in the stadium with the characters cheering for those they want to win and booing for those they want to lose. The noise level, the more exaggerated acting in this case is meant to get the audience riled up or excited for the events to come. So it makes perfect sense for Dumbledore to speak of  eternal glory, and winners and losers. Because that is what the film is about, competition and the calm before the storm.  Though does it stand up to what came before? Does it fit alongside Alfonso Cuaron's  more intimate Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The answer, yes.
                What Steve Kloves is trying to say with Goblet of Fire is that we gave you a taste of what is to come with Prisoner of Azkaban now just sit back and relax , because everything after this point is  the proverbial shit hitting the fan. Now does this mean Kloves and Newell do not allow us to anticipate what is to come? Far from it. In fact the film is filled with hints such as,  Dumbledore's trust of Snape getting stronger and allusions to horcruxs with many other hints besides. There is no shortage of Steve Kloves having fun with the audience showing off his foreknowledge as he skillfully places the pieces on the board for the events to come.
                Though Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has some disappointing omissions with its adaption from book to screen. It does maintain the spirit of the novel without sacrificing anything of note. Meaning it retains what it needs to retain and loses what it needs to lose with a clear understanding of why it is doing so. As a result the film ultimately does what it is supposed to do which is honor its source material as well as craft an entertaining ride for its film audience.



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