Not so good leh, the Potter

Just came back from the screening of Potter yesterday night when I watched the sneaks, I must say that the entire 2.5 hour movie pretty much sucked. I really don't think it was so good after all, which is a letdown after the rather spectacular trailer that was shown in theatres and the official website.

Nothing wrong with the cast and all, Radcliffe and company are still carrying off the titles characters well and I dare say the kids are definitely improving and moving more into character as the instalments go by. The Hogwarts CGI-ed grounds and towering spires are still impressive and man, those Dragons are HOT, but still I am left with an empty feeling inside and didn't quite enjoy the movie.

The reasons?

Off hand, I can think of a couple.

One of the major faults of the movie is its relative brevity. In this age when you will not even bat an eyelid anymore when you hear about three hour or more movies, Goblet of Fire's 2.5 hour screen time seems too short and it is! I mean the book is well over 500 pages if I am not wrong and there was so many details and plots that were left out that it made some parts of the movie disjointed and incoherent. It's a lucky thing I have read the book which helps since I can remember some bits of the original tale and still string the pieces together, but not for those who have not read the Rowling scrawls.

The entire tournament setup is also not that exciting and fails make me anticipate and worry about the fates of the other Champions besides only Harry (only because he's the damn lead) since the rest of the foreign students and even Cedric Diggory was so glossed over. In fact, I don't even give two hoots even if they died, which of course Cedric did in the end and I didn't really feel a thing for his demise since the entire movie he appeared like what, five times?

Conversely, I really felt sad and depressed when he died in the book because the prose simply make me feel more for him as a character.

The beginning bits about the Riddle estate was also loosely written over as well as the Quidditch World Cup sequence which was one of the memorable parts in the book. It's a pity really if they have shown the entire Bulgaria vs Ireland (if I am not wrong) match. It would be breathtaking, but I think they sunk in alot of money doing the Dragon animation that's why.

The Tri-Wizard tournament also simply degenerated into yet another Hollywood display of graphical technology and special effects widzardry (no pun intended). The Hungarian HornTail is frighteningly huge and menacing, the merfolk and those sotong creatures in the Black Lake are an absolutely horrific bunch and of course the resurrection ritual of Voldermort at the end is a visual treat but that's about it. I think I paid 8 bucks just to watch some fine computer animations and not the drama that I have come to expect from the previous Potter films. There's no growing pains and adolescent anguish here from Harry, only the feelings of crushes and a short fight with Ron. Hermione was also reduced to a role that looks really good but her sharp wit and Miss Know-It-All demeanor are somewhat diminished.

And don't get me started on Cho Chang.

To me, Cho is a really pretty girl in the books, especially since she hails from the lesser heard of Ravenclaw House. She was the one chance that Ravenclaw would be remembered and the Director had to cast Katie Leung for the role. No offence to young Katie, I think she has potential to act and she really did try to get into the role of Cho, but I think she is not that suitable for the character. Maybe it's Katie's looks (not that she is ugly, mind you, just not pretty and striking enough) that doesn't really do justice to Cho. I would have oh so wished that they used Kristen Kruek instead. Serious.

Oh well.

But still, the movie does have some redeeming factors. The visuals as I mentioned before are good and the whole feel of the franchise is still retained so Potter fans need not be so uptight over the flaws. It's too bad since Goblet of Fire is really one of the most exciting and well-written books so far (my personal fave) and it has to be presented this way which results in it being a little off-balanced and hard to understand for the non-readers while the previous ones had no such problems.

They could have just made it into a two part movie and release it a few months shy of each other a la Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, I don't mind. And I am sure there are many others out there who will share my view. But of course the Hollywood people didn't.

All things said, you guys out there should still watch it, fellow readers like Sha would still probably enjoy the show and I admit I could be a little nit-picky here since this is obviously my fave episode barring my reading of the Half-Blood Prince which I have yet to do since the hardback book is damn expensive (at $45.10, but Kinokuniya having it at 25% off last I saw two days back).

Still, give me the $19.90 paperback version and I will tell you what I think.

But before that happens, the movie adaptation of Goblet of Fire is a display of fine cinematography gone a little wrong when you know that your screenplay writers and adaptation crew didn't really serve up a good platter of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and good old Pumpkin Juice.