Under the Microscope

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Part One

By Wolfen Moondaughter
April 1, 2006

I'm not exaggerating when I say I'd been looking forward to this film for over a year before it was finally released to theatres — I dare say that was true of many a Harry Potter (henceforth HP when referring to the franchise) fan. With my home-made Gryffindor hoodie, my new Goblet of Fire (GoF) t-shirt, and my purse covered in HP buttons, I felt a little self-conscious when we left the house; for Prisoner of Azkaban (PoA) I was the only attendee wearing anything HP-related. This time, though, the row I sat in was full of HP-shirt-wearing fans with the HP glasses. The gal who sat next to me was wearing a Gryffindor shirt. Someone was dressed as a dementor. (Damn, I wish I’d brought my camera, for my HP cosplayer section on my HP fansite!) And as we left the theatre after that first viewing, I heard many of these similarly die-hard fans saying aloud what I was thinking: that while they liked it well enough, it just wasn't as good as the third film, and they were upset by how much was left out.

I took notes when I saw GoF in the theatres (twice), but time and Tart's schedule dictated that this review couldn’t be published in December, or even January. So I figured what the heck, I'd save this for the DVD release (and be able to check my notes against the movie!). For sanity's sake, we're breaking it into two parts.

As always with my Microscopic reviews, I must warn you that this article is spoiler-intensive, both for the film and the book versions, as I'll be discussing the movie scene-by-scene. It should be noted that I do not have the "special edition DVD", so this review is of the theatrical version, and not the deleted scenes or extras.

Permit me a moment to grouse that despite coming across four displays, I saw no sign of the "special edition" anywhere when I bought my copy, not even a shelf-talker announcing where it was supposed to be. If I had known there was a "special edition" in existence, I would have waited and gotten it instead (if I managed to find it anywhere else). What I did keep finding was the damn two-pack that had a "sample" of the HP version of the Scene It game for a few dollars more. I finally saw the "special edition" the next time I went to the store — and there were only about 5 copies of it, all of them tucked away in an almost-unseen corner. Thanks a lot, Warner Bros, for making it so that if you want the extras you have to by a more expensive "special" version this time, unlike the first three DVD releases!!

Before we get to the Micro, some overall impressions.

I'm warming up to the film now, and I can’t say that I walked away from the theatre disliking it exactly, but ... I don’t seem to feel the fannish goosebumps of delight that I'd felt with the other films. If the film version of PoA was missing some major plot points, and therefore felt like it was missing a vital organ or two, this one was like finding a skeleton that had been stripped of every conceivable scrap of flesh, leaving only the bare bones behind. Many character motivations were fuzzy at best; my mother, who hadn’t read the book, had a million questions for me after we left the theatre.

I understand the problems involved with such an undertaking: most of the actors are of an age where, thanks to laws regarding working children, they can only work in short installments. Basically, they can’t film as much in the same stretch of time that they might film with an entirely-adult cast. And they couldn’t just lengthen the number of months they did the filming, because the kids would age visibly in a longer timeframe. Also, while a miniseries would serve the plot better, again, there's the "filmable hours per day" constriction — and I don't know that I would even want to bother if it were only released on the small screen anyway (at the very least, the budget would likely suffer).

Still, how much longer would filming have taken to make it three hours instead of two and a half? I am certain that audiences these days could handle it, even welcome it, so to anyone who says an audience would not be willing to sit still that long, after the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I say that's no longer a valid excuse to me. I will accept the argument that making it longer wouldn’t have been cost-effective — except that they could have divided it into two films, and then it would have been! I mean, if we're willing to see divided into three parts, why not this in two? As for the next one, surely they can take longer to film Order of the Phoenix, since the kids won't age much visually now? I'll willingly wait two or three years if Warner Bros would make OotP a two-parter — and therefore leave in characters that are already rumoured to have been cut from the story, like Molly Weasley!

I'm already quite aggravated at how many characters were cut out of this one. Yes, I know why they were cut out, but I think the work ultimately suffered for it — it lost a lot of depth and clarity. We have the actors, particularly the students, to thank for what was left. But damn it, I was really looking forward to seeing the people that were cut! Arrrgh! I may not need all of my toes and fingers, but I still wouldn’t want to cut any of them off! Just because something isn’t "necessary" doesn't mean it's not detrimental (or painful) to axe it! I also felt like there was a terrible lack of the presence of magic (arguably a character unto itself in the previous films) in this one. Overall, while what there of the story was good — even excellent at times — there wasn't enough of it. Even when I saw it in the theatres, I felt like I was watching a DVD on fast-forward (and occasionally even using the scene skip button!). So with all the cut characters, cut magicks, and cut plot points, I guess I can’t say I'm surprised to find this tapestry to be the weakest of the franchise's installments, despite the fact that I actually prefer the book version over its predecessors.

Was it director Mike Newell's fault that it turned out that way? I confess I had misgivings from the start; maybe he's just too "straight fiction" for working with a fantasy world. Or maybe screenwriter Steve Kloves was to blame, despite the fact that he did an excellent job overall with the first three films. Maybe it was a little of both. Or maybe it was just kind of an impossible situation to begin with, and they did the best anyone could under the circumstances.

I did like GoF well enough to want to see it again, at least, even if I wasn't nearly as anxious to as I had been with the prior films. And for all that it's missing in detail, I have to say that there's an excellent sense of the characters and their personalities when it comes to the Trio and the Weasleys, and even the rest of the student body. The camaraderie (and lack thereof, when they were all mad at Harry) was almost physically tangible! The younger actors have continued to improve— and I hadn't even really thought they needed improving after PoA.

I will say that I was a bit concerned about Harry's hair before seeing the film; yes, his hair is supposed to be messy, and normally I like long hair on a guy, but in most of the promo-pics I'd seen, Harry's hair looked like a wig! Thankfully, in the context of the actual film, it didn’t prove to be the huge distraction I expected — most of the time, it looked all right. As for Ron's hair, I liked it hanging in his eyes like that: it added to the angry, brooding tone of the character in this installment.

Well, let's get on with the actual Microscope — excuse me a moment while I change grammatical tenses .…

The beginning, alas, with the overly-long pan over stone skeletal carvings, does not make me shiver with anticipation and smile till my face hurts, like the opening sequences of the previous films. I suppose it's useful to show us Tom Riddle Sr.'s tombstone, at least, but here the movie's barely started, and I'm already disappointed. We follow Nagini into the graveyard, and it's still slow-going.

We see an old man muttering about intruders in a house off in the distance, where a light is on. The man is Frank Bryce (Eric Sykes), gardener to the decrepit Riddle estate, though we are never told this in the film. His back-story is cut, which I understand — there's a limited amount of time to tell this tale, after all — but it makes me sad. Maybe the absence of the details of the Riddle family aren’t so detrimental to the story, but such intricate detail is a big part of why Rowling's series is such a joy to read! He goes to investigate. (And we're still moving at a snail's crawl as we follow him about. I suppose this is supposed to build tension, but it's just putting me to sleep.) At the manor house, he's unfortunate enough to stumble across Voldemort (of whom we only see an arm, the rest obscured by a chair), Wormtail (Timothy Spall), and … hold on, who's this guy? I figure it must be Barty Crouch Jr. (David Tennant), despite the fact that he's not in this scene in the book (and his hair is the wrong colour — he's supposed to be blond). Gone is any mention of Bertha Jorkins — and with along it, a good chunk of the wonderful mystery story Rowling created. *Sigh* Also gone is the lengthy discussion Voldemort had in the book with Wormtail. (Good for him, 'ey? He looks fairly happy, instead of the being on the verge of a nervous breakdown, as I would expect him to be.) Nagini slithers in, and informs her master that they are being watched. There's a flash of green light. Poor Frank. Lucky Nagini: at least she made it into the story!

Next we know, Hermione is shaking Harry awake from a nightmare. They're at the Weasley house, and she's just arrived. The whole Dursley scene from the book is just gone. It doesn’t feel right without them!! She wakes Ron, who quickly pulls up the covers, embarrassed to be seen in bed by her, despite his having a tank top on. (Awww. *Grin*) She tells them breakfast is ready.

A moment later, we find Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams), Fred (James Phelps), George (Oliver Phelps), and Ginny (Bonnie Wright) groggily marching through the woods. There's no Bill or Charlie, the elder Weasley brothers (to be fair, we didn’t get to see Charlie in the first film either, which also bugged me), no mother Molly, no brother Percy and his worshipful admiration for his new boss (Mr. Crouch), and no Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl. (I don’t hold onto any hope on the inclusion of Pig anymore, despite there being a photo of Ron and him in the movie's poster book) I was really looking forward to the introduction of Bill and the delayed intro of Charlie, damn it! And I wanted to see Percy again!

(Yay for the twins being a near-constant presence in this film! You know, I saw the twins at a con this past September, and I find that I've gotten to the point where I tell them apart fairly easily, even when I can’t see the little "distinguishing marks". They actually look rather different from each other to me now — it's kinda cool! Now I will always know who is Fred and who is George! ^_^)

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys find Amos Diggory (Jeff Rawle) and his son Cedric (Robert Pattison). Ginny and Hermione exchange a look and a small smile at Cedric's intro (probably to enforce the notion that he's a popular, attractive boy). Together, they all climb to the top of the hill, where they find an old boot — a Portkey. They gather round to touch it — Harry is almost too late. After a wild flight, Arthur tells the kids to let go. They reluctantly obey, and slam into the ground — the twins included. Cedric lands easily, along with his father and Mr. Weasley, a sign of his obvious magical and/or physical prowess. This and his arrogant smirk makes me not like him so well, even when he helps Harry up. Aren’t we supposed to feel sympathetic towards Cedric? He certainly doesn’t seem modest here, as he does in the book.

When the kids get to their feet, they're led to the insane campground for the Quidditch World Cup. The audience is offered little in the way of background information for these scenes. We don’t meet the senior Crouch here, and we never meet the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman (there goes a major suspect in the mystery!), nor any other of Arthur's coworkers from the Ministry.

Our glimpse of the campsite is a brief one, but the peek in the Weasley tent, which is larger inside than out (like Dr. Who's Tardis!) is very cool. (There's only one tent, rather than one for each sex, and it's more .. tent-y looking inside than I expected, but I like it all.) Arthur yells at Ron to get out of the kitchen, and the twins repeat the command. The twins put their feet on a table, and Arthur yells at them; they repeat his admonishment and put their feet right back up when his back is turned. Heeee! I'm glad for cute little things in the background, which help bring life back into the story after so much being cut out. And things like that don't eat time, because we had to have a chance to look around the tent anyway — this is just gravy! Harry, who is confused by the special difference at first, sums it up nicely: "I love magic!"

The stadium for the Cup is pretty damn wicked! I don’t think I could be in those stands, I’d get friggin' dizzy, especially on the levels where they curve over the levels below. The story's altered a little here too; Arthur doesn’t have seats for them in Crouch's skybox, so they don’t spend the game in the presence of Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs — I adore him, he plays such great villains!) and his wife and son. In fact, we don’t see Narcissa Malfoy at all (*pout*). But I'm relatively okay with this change — it's not a scene-breaker. When they do encounter Lucius and Draco, while they make their way to their seats, he makes a disparaging remark about their seating, and Draco adds that they're sitting with the Minister of Magic. Lucius whacks Draco in the chest with his "pimp-cane" (as it's affectionately referred to in the fandom), telling his son not to brag. (Huh? I guess Lucius' problem is that Draco's not subtle when he's mean?...) Anyway, I can't help but think Draco (Tom Felton) looks awfully good in that Muggle-ish suit he's wearing. (Pardon me while I bludgeon my "inner fifteen-year-old" into unconsciousness and lock her in a closet before she gets me arrested. Although I might point out that, though Draco is supposed to be 14 in the scene, Felton himself was actually 17 during the filming. That doesn’t sound quite as bad … does it? *Puts a muzzle on her inner fangrrl too, just to be safe.*)

Since we don’t see Crouch yet, there's none of the fuss about him being absent from his seat the entire time, as there was in the book, and consequently no need to introduce his house-elf, Winky. That means there's also no introduction for Hermione to the house-elf plight (so no SPEW — Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare — either). And there goes another twist in the mystery story. *Sigh* No wonder we were introduced to Barty Jr. in the beginning of the film, since Winky's not there to act as his plot device. But that just leaves a lot of unanswered Qs, which we'll get to later.

Ron and Harry wear the Bulgarian team's colours, while everyone else in their group wears those of the Irish. We see the Leprechaun display for the Irish, but no Leprechaun gold is rained on the crowd in this version. Ron's using a pair (? it's just one big eye …) of Omnioculars, but we don’t see Harry buy them for him, or Ron pay him back with the Leprechaun gold. The Bulgarians fly through the Leprechaun, and Seeker Victor Krum (Stanislov Ianevski) does some fancy flying. There are no veelas dancing for the Bulgarian team, and therefore no exposition on the concept of veelas, the women-creatures who can charm a man to fall madly in love. (And of course this means no mention of Fleur being half-veela is ever made in the film.) We do see a cool effect though: the people in the crowd hold up signs, and since wizards have moving pictures, Krum's image flies across the cards, a few hundred times larger-than-life, as if they made up a giant video monitor. I really get a kick out of that! Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) announces the start of the match, using the Sonorous charm to amplify his voice.

Suddenly we're back in the Weasley tent. (Oh, I should have known we wouldn’t get to see any of the game or any of the character interactions during it. That's what, an eighth of the book gone so far altogether?) Ron is going on and on about the virtues of Krum, his throat hoarse — he sounds like he's in love — and the twins and Ginny (yay for seeing more of Ginny!) tease him mercilessly over it. Even Harry joins in as the twins sing a love song to Ron. It's a cute, funny scene (if a little weird), and while it seems strange to me that, with all the scenes missing, they would add one, I don’t really mind, especially since it sets up the whole Ron-worshipping-Krum thing.

They hear a crowd outside; the twins think it's the Irish celebrating their victory, but Arthur knows better. He ushers everyone outside and tells the kids to get to a Portkey. It's (to quote Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters) "mass hysteria" outside. We see Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters, for the first time. I'm pleased with the design: a kind of a Ku Klux Klan flavor to their robes (that certainly suits them — I don’t know why I've heard so many people complain about that), and these menacing silver death masks that cover the upper two-thirds of their faces. The kids get separated in the crowd. The scene is drastically changed from the book (understandably so, now that Winky is no longer in the picture). Harry gets accidentally knocked down, then kicked into unconsciousness by the running feet of the mob. (Hey, where are the flying Muggles?? Er, well, since we didn’t see Arthur talking to the Muggle who owns the campsite or talk about how they need to try to seem Muggle-like in this version, I guess that would have come out of nowhere. So instead of flying Muggles, we see the Death Eaters just randomly throwing fireballs about, which kind of alters the context, doesn't it? From an anti-Muggle hate-crime display to just a random act of violence, I mean.)

We see a man cast a spell (Mosmorde), creating the image of a green skull with a snake in its mouth (the Dark Mark) into the sky. The man is the same one we saw talking to Voldemort in the beginning (who has yet to actually be named as Barty Crouch, Jr.). When Harry awakens, the camp seems deserted, save for that man. Ron and Hermione call for Harry, and the man runs off. When Ron and Hermione actually find Harry, he doubles over as pain shoots through his Curse scar. Then someone casts Stupefy, and the Trio fall to the ground, out of the line of fire. They're surrounded by Ministry wizards who think that they cast the Mark into the sky, but Arthur comes along and straightens his coworkers out. We meet Barty Crouch, Senior (Roger Lloyd Pack), and he seems a bit off his rocker, practically foaming at the mouth in his frenzy to find the one responsible. (He also looks a touch like Hitler. And since his hair is black instead of the blond it's supposed to be, I'm even more convinced now that the other man is indeed Barty Jr.) Harry wants to know what crime they supposedly have committed; Hermione explains about the Dark Mark. Harry asks if the men in the masks were Voldemort's followers; Arthur confirms that they were Death Eaters (it's the fist time in the film that we hear that phrase). Harry points Crouch and the Ministry Wizards in the direction he saw the strange man go, adding to Arthur that he didn’t see the fellow's face, so he has no idea who it was. (As if he would know even if he had seen the guy's face?)

Cut to the Hogwarts Express. Ron goes to buy some stuff from the snack trolley, but comes up short — and refuses to let Harry buy him anything. So this is an interesting scene, ne? It covers what was skipped at the World Cup, the notion that Ron is bothered by his family's finances. He's lost something with his maturity — the ability to accept things from Harry easily, like he did on their first train ride. So besides establishing what we missed before, it also starts to set up the possibility of a rift in their friendship.

The scene gets set here for Harry's crush as well — we were supposed to see Cho Chang (Katie Leung) at the World Cup, but in this version he sees her on the train instead, where she smiles at him from in the hall, after she orders a couple of pumpkin pasties. He's so enthralled, he doesn't even buy anything from the trolley. I don’t recall any mention being made of her being Ravenclaw's Seeker, and it was never pointed out in the last film either. For the purposes of the films, I guess she's just an ordinary girl. Radcliffe and Leung manage to make their attraction believable even with just the tiny bits of screen time they get over the course of the movie, but a little extra set-up would have been nice.

While Harry stares into space with a dazed, love-struck expression (how adorable!), Hermione wonders how it is that the Ministry doesn't know who was behind the attack at the World Cup, asking what was up with the security. Ron replies that there was loads, and yet it happened anyway: that's why the Ministry is so freaked out. Hermione notices Harry flinching and rubbing his scar, and convinces him to send a message via Hedwig to Sirius about the pains, as well as the man he saw at the cup and his nightmares. I totally understand cutting Malfoy from the train scene — but at the same time, Draco's relegated much farther into the background in this film than I would have liked. Well, at least we got to see a bit of Hedwig!

At the castle, the students watch and cheer as Hagrid directs in a flying carriage (from Beauxbatons — it looks pretty cool), and a ship (from Durmstrang) pops up out of the lake (that was wicked!! I wonder how exactly that mode of travel works?). The arrival of the foreign students is much earlier than it is in the books, but it's a sensible change.

Next we're in the Great Hall, getting a glimpse of Harry and his friends. (We do not meet Colin Creevy's brother, Dennis.) Filch (David Bradley) runs in (doing this weird sort of hop as he goes), talks to Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), and runs out again (it's hysterical!). Dumbledore talks about how Hogwarts is proud to be hosting a special event this year, the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He says that they will be hosts to students from other schools, and asks them to welcome the girls of Beauxbatons. The girls rush in like they are doing a dance number, throwing their shoulders around and sighing like girls in love while butterflies fly about them. (What is this, the Ministry of Silly Walks?? Well, I suppose, it being the beginning of the year instead of October, it's too warm for them to be shivering and miserable, like they were in the books. Couldn’t they at least be snobby, though? *Pout*) I'm not at all impressed with their display, but Ron seems to be — especially by their backsides. Seamus Finnigan (Devon Murray — thank Gaia he wasn't cut too!) makes a comment about the French lasses' instructor, Madame Maxime (Frances de la Tour), being a "big lady," and that's putting it mildly. I'm a little annoyed: Olympe Maxime is supposed to be a bit wider than Hagrid, not taller. We see a close-up of Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) momentarily, though we're not told who she is yet. (I think the younger girl in the feathery leotard next to her is her sister, Gabrielle, though I thought she was too young to be in school yet...) While the Gryffindor boys seem enchanted by the new girls, Hermione and Ginny seem less than impressed.

Next up is the boys of Durmstrang, doing their own dance number with staves (including a cool sort of after-image effect) and flips. Krum comes in last, with his instructor, Igor Karkaroff (Pedja Bjelac), and "Karkaroff's aide" (Tolga Safer), who seems to have as much screen-time as Viktor for a character who doesn’t have a name! (I don’t mind, though — it's not like his screen time detracts from anyone else's.) Ron's practically incoherent, he's so thrilled Krum has come to Hogwarts. Another Durmstrang student does a trick with conjured fire: it looks like a phoenix when it flies before Dumbledore! (Hmmm… If you've read the second half of my Microscope on The Half-Blood Prince, you might remember my theory that Dumbledore is a phoenix animagus...) All in all, I like the Durmstrang students' little performance much better than the Beauxbatons'. Karkaroff gives Dumbledore a hearty hug — you’d never think there was a chance he was a Death Eater with how friendly Dumbledore is to him. We get a momentary glimpse of a lone figure hobbling in the rain up to Hogwarts. Back in the hall, Karkaroff gets settled next to Snape (Alan Rickman), who in turn seems less than thrilled to see him.

As Maxime sits at the teachers' table, she mentions that her horses have special needs; she's introduced to Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), sitting further down the table, who will care for them. She seems quite taken with him; Hagrid, in turn, is so entranced that he accidentally stabs the unnamed-but-recurring music instructor (Warwick Davis) in the hand with a fork. (Oh how I miss Professor Flitwick!! Why do they keep dressing Davis up as this creepy little character that's not even in the books?? Ah well, it was a funny moment at least.)

We see Dumbledore standing next to a strange-looking container; as he begins to talk about how dangerous the Tournament is, and how those who would be a Champion will stand alone, we see the enthusiastic faces of the students. (Danger? Alone? Eh? Wot? Tell us more about this 'eternal glory' thing ...) The man from outside quietly enters as Dumbledore speaks. As the headmaster introduces Crouch, Sr., the storm depicted in the Great Hall's enchanted ceiling suddenly grows violent; the stranger silences it, gaining the attention of the students as he does so. Ron says it's "Mad-Eye" Moody (Brendan Gleeson); Hermione asks if he means Alastor Moody, the Auror. Dean Thomas (Alfie Enoch; yay for Dean still being in the film!) asks what an Auror is. Ron says it's a "Dark Wizard-catcher", adding that Moody's filled half of Azkaban but these days is "mad as a hatter." Moody hobbles to the teachers' tables, zeroing in on Harry with his magical eye as he goes. (Yeah, um, not really pleased with how they handled that. Why make it so mechanical? They couldn’t use CGI instead?) Moody drinks from a flask; Seamus wonders what's in it, and Harry muses that it's probably not pumpkin juice.

Before seeing the film. I wasn't sure I would like the man cast as Moody, or his magical eye, but despite my issues with the latter, I find I like Gleeson. We do miss out on the amusing back-story to him that Arthur had given in the book, which would have given a lot more nuance to Moody's character and set up other details, but I guess we get by well enough without it. We also lose all of the verbal exchange between Ron and Hermione in this sequence, but I as much as the loss pains me, I guess I can forgive it; there's (just) enough still there to establish their complicated feelings towards each other — and towards Fleur and Krum — in the rest of the film. (And it is Harry's story, after all, as I keep reminding myself). I am happy — deliriously so, really — that Harry's classmates, just like the twins and Ginny, are a more constant presence in this film compared to prior installments. And that's a bit of a feat, seeing as they didn't have much in the way of actual classes depicted! In fact, I would call it this film's saving grace: the fact that, while so many characters are missing, they put the ones they kept to good use.

Heeeey, I just noticed something! The house tables have been flopped around from the way they were in the other films! Didn’t it used to be, when standing at the teachers' end, from viewer's left to right: Slytherin, then Gryffindor, then Hufflepuff, then Ravenclaw? And now it's all the opposite way around! Curious. And some seat-swapping happens after Moody's arrival for some reason. The segment starts with it being, from viewer's left to right, Hermione, Ginny, Padma (why is she a Gryffindor???), Parvati, and then, several seats further up the table, Angelina, George, and Fred. But after Moody arrives, suddenly it's Hermione, Angelina, George, Fred, Padma, Parvati, and Ginny. Odd. Of course, I can thank/blame the DVD that I even noticed — I certainly didn’t either time that I saw the film in the theatre.

Crouch goes on to mention the age restriction (only those 17 and older may be a Champion), and the students, especially the twins, get angry. Dumbledore orders them to be silent (yeah, sorry, Gambon is just too crotchety to be my Dumbledore), then reveals the cup. (Aw, come on, let me see it up close so I can read the runes on the rim!!) Dumbledore tells them that whoever wishes to brave the Tournament must get their name into the Goblet by Thursday, adding that they should not to put their name in lightly, as there's no backing out later. As he speaks, the camera pans around the faces of the students — we see Cho sitting with Roger Davies on one side and Fleur on her other; appropriate, as Fleur goes to the Yule Ball with Davies. Fleur is holding the girl on the leotard in her arms, so yeah, I guess that is Gabrielle — it helps establish her bond with her sister, once one actually notices bits like that! (LOL)

Later that night, after the hall has cleared, Karkaroff closes himself into the room alone with the Goblet — I guess to establish him as a suspect to the audience.

Next day, Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Moody. He's a no-nonsense kind of guy, and makes sure that's clear from the start. Thanks to his questioning Hermione, we learn that there are spells known as "Unforgivable Curses", so called because they are considered so heinous that to use any one of them will land you in prison. Moody says the Ministry thinks they're too young to know about the Unforgivable Curses, but he feels they need to see what they're up against.

As he talks, Seamus goes to stick his gum under his desk, and without looking behind him, Moody tells him angrily that he needs to find somewhere else to stick it. Seamus is shocked, and whispers to the kids near him that the man must be able to see out of the back of his head; Moody yells that he can hear across classrooms as well, as he spins around and throws a piece of chalk at Seamus, with excellent aim. Heee, I love that bit!

Moody asks Ron to name one of the curses, and Ron says he knows of one: the Imperius Curse. Moody says yes, Ron's father would know about that one, as the Ministry had quite a time dealing with wizards and witches during the war who claimed their actions were not their own. (Handy scene for exposition, ain't it?) Moody takes a spider-looking creature out of a jar. (Why is it not just a spider? What's up with the weird arm-things? Looks almost momore like a crayfish...) He casts the Engorgement Charm on it to make it about the size of his hand, then casts the Imperius Curse on it and floats it around the room, making it perform all sorts of acrobatics. It dances on Padma (Afshan Azad), Crabbe (Jamie Waylett), and poor Ron (he's never going top get over his phobia at this rate!); even Draco gets to have it hug his face (heeeeee!). Moody asks the class if they think it's funny, and their laughter starts to die as he asks if it would be funny if it were ordered to throw itself out the window, or drown itself. The gravity of the curse, and why it's an Unforgivable one, sinks in. (I have goosebumps! Yay!) He tells them that many wizards and witches after the war claimed to have been under the Imperius when doing Voldemort's biddng; he asks, rhetorically, how they can sort out the liars.

Moody asks for another curse, and Neville (Matthew Lewis) raises his hand. Moody remarks that Professor Sprout has said Neville has an aptitude for Herbology (and of course this seemingly-stray bit of info is important, particularly in that Moody knows about it). Neville names the Cruciatus, looking ill as he speaks. Moody brings him and the spider up to the front, and then casts the spell on the spider, which subsequently writhes and makes a high-pitched scream. Seeing Neville distressed, Hermione yells at Moody to stop; he does. Moody asks her what the last Unforgivable is, placing the spider on her book. She won't answer; he casts the curse on the spider anyway and kills it. He goes on to say that the only person ever known to have survived the Killing Curse is in that very class. He moves as he speaks, and stops in front of Harry. He takes a drink from his flask. All in all, the sequence is very well done — I'm quite pleased. ^_^ (I might point out though that I never hear any mention of the excuse for the flask — the fear that he might be poisoned — mentioned, so unless one has read the book, he just comes off as a booze hound until the end, and even then, the real reason isn’t too clear.)

Class over, the students descend the stairs (um, this looks an awful lot like the stairway in the divination tower to me — since when is the DADA class in a tower?) Ron is really excited about the new teacher, but Hermione is frothing at the mouth about how inappropriate she thinks the lesson was. Neville seems to be in shock. Moody appears behind them, and asks Neville to accompany him to his office for some tea and to show him something. We see a close-up of a man in a stained-glass window — the rain outside makes it look like he's crying. Weird.

Students race through the rain to get to the Great Hall (Was this little bit, or that bit with the window, really necessary? They add no magic to the atmosphere or characterization to the story; they just eat up time that would have been better spent on an actual scene from the book!) The Hall is now filled with risers where students are hanging about, watching other students — like Cedric, who just came in from the rain — put their names in the Goblet. There's a ring of blue light around the cup.

Ron remarks that he can't wait till they're old enough to put their names in for a chance at glory, and Harry returns, "Better you than me!" The twins come in, saying they've developed a potion to beat the Goblet, and everyone cheers. Hermione shakes her head and says it will never work. They sit on each side of her and ask why. She replies that that Dumbledore himself cast the age line around the goblet, and one of his spells couldn’t be fooled by something so pathetic and dim-witted. They stand and claim that's why their idea will work — it's so stupid! They pull out the stoppers from their vials of potion, link their arms like a couple sipping champagne (that was funny!), and drink up. They jump form the risers into the circle; all seems well, until they try to put their names in, and are blown out of the ring! They age into 100-year-old-men (or young men with white hair and long beards) right before everyone's eyes. Horrified, they start brawling, rolling around on the floor and blaming each other for what's happened. It's all very amusing! Hermione looks disgusted — until Viktor comes in. He puts his name in the cup, and smiles faintly when he spots her. She smiles back. (So much for her not getting all the fuss over him, but I guess it was a necessary sacrifice.)

New scene, still in the Great Hall. The twins are back to normal. Ron, Harry, and Hermione are hanging out on the bleachers near the entrance; the tables are also back, and the hall is packed with people. The Goblet's blue fire turns red as it spits out each Champion's name; Dumbledore catches each slip of paper and calls out the names, one by one. Krum from Durmstrang, of course, and Fleur from Beauxbatons (her name was written on a cute little fan). Cedric is chosen last, and the Hogwarts students are thrilled (even the Slytherins — but shouldn’t they be annoyed, for now, that a Hufflepuff beat out their house?). The Triwizard Cup is revealed. (Pretty!!) While Dumbledore is facing away from the Goblet, the fire in it suddenly goes from blue to red, and Harry's name is spit forth. Dumbledore is confused, as he reads the slip. Harry ducks down, just as confused. The third time Dumbedore calls out Harry's name, he looks furious — at Harry, like he believes it's the boy's fault. Huh? Hermione gets Harry to his feet and pushes him onward. The room is silent — no one is cheering. Ron shoots Harry a look of pure venom. (Gee, a little more set-up for this than that little conversation they had just before the twins attempted to put their names in would have been nice. Ron shouldn’t be hating Harry right off the bat, he should simply look hurt and bewildered until he talks to Harry!) Dumbledore scowls as he directs Harry to follow in the footsteps of the other Champions. I would expect Snape to look hateful, but he only seems curious. (Not that I entirely mind that...) McGonagall (Maggie Smith, at whose feet I worship) at least seems in-character, as she lays a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder as he passes.

In the next room, Karkaroff and Maxime voice their outrage, while Dumbledore takes Harry by the shoulders, shaking him and angrily asking the boy if he put his name in the Goblet. (I'm seriously ticked — this is not my Dumbledore. In the book, Dumbledore never seems to believe for even an instant that Harry might have put his own name in, and he certainly doesn’t seem panicked. I realise it's not entirely Gambon's fault — maybe not even remotely — and that the director and screenwriter had input as well, but juts like with PoA, I find myself dearly missing Richard Harris in the role.) Moody points out that no fourth year would have been able to fool the Goblet. Dumbledore leaves the decision as to whether they eliminate Harry or allow him to play to Crouch, who in turn points out that the placement of a name within the Goblet constitutes a binding magical contract — Harry is required to compete, whether he was the one to put his name in or not. Harry looks petrified.

Cut to Dumbledore, McGonagall, Moody, and Snape, in Dumbledore's office. McGonagall protests the decision to force Harry to play. Dumbledore leans on his Pensieve (without naming it or explaining it). The Pensieve is pretty cool; the mirrors behind it are an interesting addition. Still, I'm confused as it's being introduced so soon. Snape (in a tone much like the one he used in The Chamber of Secrets, when he sounded very reasonable and actually suggested Harry was a victim of circumstance — before then casting suspicion on Harry) suggests that they allow Harry to participate in order to catch whoever set the boy up in the first place. I assume by this we're meant to believe Snape himself is the one who set Harry up. Dumbledore agrees with Snape, and orders Moody to keep an eye on Harry. He pulls strands of thought out of his head and puts the memory of the paper with Harry's name on it floating out of the Goblet into the water of the Pensieve. This scene is not in the book, and while it's perfectly fine in its own right and I'm glad for more screen-time for these characters, I don’t really see a big need for it, plot-wise.

Back in the dormitory, Ron angrily confronts Harry, asking him how he got past the spells on the Goblet. Harry insists that he didn’t, that he has no desire to be in the tournament, but Ron refuses to believe. Harry says he's being stupid. As he gets into bed, the Weasley boy replies, "Yeah, that's me: Harry Potter's stupid friend." When Harry tries to talk further, Ron turns his back and tells Harry to piss off. On the one hand, I think Radcliffe and Grint did an excellent job with the tension in this scene. On the other hand, like I said before, in the book Ron isn't so angry right away — he's hurt, sure, but he tries to laugh it off and doesn't get angry until Harry denies having done anything to get his name in the goblet. It bothers me more than a little that they had Ron pissed from the get-go, with no build-up — especially since they could have had that build-up in the same amount of time by using different inflections on the same lines! Ah well; the looks of misery on the boys' faces is very touching at least.

The next day, Harry finds himself at a photo-op/interview session with the other Champions. (The wand-weighing and Mr. Ollivander are cut, and I don’t think this is wise — we reallycould have used the reminder about Harry and Voldemort's wands sharing a core for the end battle.) Miranda Richardson is fan*tas*tic as Rita Skeeter, the journalist with no integrity (even if her hair is the wrong colour). She actually slaps Fleur — affectionately, but it's still not a welcome gesture. Rita drags Harry off into the broom cupboard — and makes a remark about how he should feel right at home in it. (How the hell did she find out about that??) She starts to interrogate him, her green Quick Quotes Quill hard at work at putting words in Harry's mouth — until he realises what she's doing and puts a stop to it. I recognise lines — I'm not sure, but I think the scene may be practically verbatim from the book! At any rate, I'm very happy with it. (And as I watch and try to take notes with the theatrical viewings, I can't help but think having a Quick Quotes Quill would be really nice …)

Next we see Harry, he's in the Owlery (which looks appropriately disgusting) when an owl arrives for him. It's a letter from Sirius, saying he'll "meet" Harry in the Gryffindor common room. Sirius also warns him not to keep using Hedwig to mail letters, and to be careful with this owl because it bites. Of course, the warning came to late — it bit Harry right before he read the line. (Heheheheh.)

We're in the Gryffindor common room. Harry throws the prophet article Rita wrote about him into the fire. Then Harry hears Sirius (Gary Oldman), and finds his godfather's face formed in the logs and ashes. (Now hold on! That's not how the Floo works!! It's supposed to be your actual head in green fire, as if you were just poking your head through a curtain! This is just … stupid! The only time we get to see Sirius — all his other scenes are cut out — and he looks like that? Arrrgh!) Sirius asks Harry if he put his name in the Goblet and about the man he saw in his dream, and Harry answers all his questions. When Harry says Voldemort intended to send the strange man after Harry, Sirius says it's probably just a dream, but doesn’t seem convinced himself. Sirius tells Harry that he doesn't think Hogwarts is safe for him anymore, revealing that Karakoff was/is a Death Eater, and mentioning that Crouch was so heartless that he sent his own son to Azkaban. (Er, so is Sirius saying Crouch might kill Harry? Did Sirius doubt young Barty's guilt?) He warns Harry that people die in the Triwizard Tournament; Harry says he doesn’t want to compete, but Sirius points out he has no choice. Harry hears a noise, and says someone's coming. As a final warning before he departs, Sirius tells Harry to keeps his friends close. Ron overhears them just as Sirius is leaving, and asks Harry who he's talking to. Harry says no-one, and that it wouldn’t be the first time Ron's been imagining things. (Huh? What the heck did that mean? Way to listen to that last warning from your godfather, Harry!) Ron says Harry's probably practicing for his next interview. I notice as Ron goes to bed that he could have seen and heard everything from the upstairs landing. I wonder if he knows more than he's letting on. This scene is a bit out of order — it should come later than some of the following scenes — but I suppose it doesn’t matter, since so much was dropped.

The next day, we find Harry hanging out on the lakeshore, with Neville. Neville tells Harry how Moody gave him a book on aquatic plants. (Heh, foreshadowing, anyone?) Hermione, Ginny, and Ron come down, and Harry and Ron exchange glares. Hermione nervously comes up to Harry and tells him that Ron told her to tell him that Seamus said Dean told him that Pavarti said that Hagrid was looking for him, and wanted to meet him later that night. Harry starts to reply, then stares at her blankly. "… What?" (*Dies laughing*) She tries to explain again and gets frustrated, then says the basic point is that Hagrid wants to see him. Harry starts to say she can tell Ron something, but she screams that she's not an owl, and stalks off. It's a very cute scene, and a nice set-up for a sweet moment between Harry and Ron later — even if it's not in the book (Hagrid gets his message to Harry in an entirely different way).

Next we see Harry, he's walking through the woods with Hagrid. He notices Hagrid's hair is slicked back and the man has a flower in his lapel. When he calls Hagrid on it, Hagrid replies that Harry might try combing his own hair now and again. (*Snerk*) When they get close to their destination, Hagrid tells Harry to put his cloak on, then approaches Madame Maxime. Harry is entirely grossed out by their romance. He's also horrified learn that the first task involves dragons: Hagrid led him there on the pretense of showing the dragons to Maxime. Maxime says she must get a closer look, and when she leaves, Harry pulls off his cloak and looks to Hagrid for an explanation. Hagrid tells him that Charlie, Ron's brother, is among the tamers, and that Ron nearly fainted when he saw them. (Wait. They allowed Ron to see them?? Did the teachers know he's not on speaking terms with Harry, and figure that was okay? Although Hagrid seemed surprised that Ron hadn't told him. Then why even show Harry the dragons, Hagrid, if you thought he already knew? ... Anyway, I don't think Ron knew in the book, did he?) Harry is outraged that Ron could keep something like this from him.

The next day, Harry runs into student after student wearing flashing "Potter Stinks" buttons— er, "badges" (I like how the special effects team portrayed these). The students also impede his way through the hall. When he gets outside, he finds Cedric surrounded by his cronies, and asks if they can talk a moment alone. Cedric agrees, and his friends depart. (Okay, I guess it makes sense to simplify this scene.) Harry tells Cedric about the dragons. Cedric asks if Fleur and Viktor know, and Harry says yes. (I wonder how Harry knows that Viktor knows — did I miss seeing Karkaroff with the dragons?) We see, while they talk, that Moody is spying on them. Cedric apologises about the badges, saying he'd asked his friends not to wear them. (Hey, but you did flash your friends a grin as they insulted Harry just a few seconds before, didn’t you, Cedric? And you certainly seemed to enjoy their attentions while you lounged on that bench; in fact, you rather reminded me of Malfoy just then.)

After Cedric leaves, Harry spots Ron walking with Seamus. (Seamus says some interesting stuff about not trying to blow things up but liking fire — a reference to his accidents in the first film, probably — that I couldn't hear in the theatre. I'm coming to appreciate all the sly little background bits now that I can take the time to look for them — and now that I can hear everything better!) Harry calls his ex-best-friend a git and tells him to stay away. Ron obliges. (A heart-breaking sequence, and well-played — you really get a sense of how alone Harry is at the moment!)

Draco notices the exchange from his place in a tree, and taunts Harry. He says he and his father have a bet going over Harry's survival rate for the first task: his father says Harry will only last five minutes, but Draco's betting on ten. (Well, well, that's almost a compliment!) Harry tells Draco that his father is an evil man, calls Draco pathetic, and turns away. Furious, Draco pulls his wand out to hex Harry.

Moody spots Draco, and transmogrifies him into a ferret, saying he doesn’t like wizards who attack from behind. He begins bouncing Ferret!Draco around with his wand (although he doesn’t actually make Ferret!Draco hit the ground, like in the book), until McGonagall notices and asks what he's doing. He tells her "Teaching." She asks, horrified, "Is that a student?!?" To which he replies, "Technically, it's a ferret." (Oh my goddess, I love this man's delivery! I'm so glad they found a way to work this scene into the film, even with the changes.) Moody bounces Ferret!Draco into Crabbe's pants. Goyle (Joshua Herdman) tries to reach down Crabbe's trousers to fetch the ferret, and apparently Draco bites him. The ferret comes out one the boy's trouser-legs. (Ok, I realise the whole trouser-bit was probably meant in slapstick fun, but the potential for some really dirty innuendo is just too, too high there.... Ahhhh, I've been hanging out in the fandom too much, I reckon.)

McGonagall changes Draco back. Draco backs away, making threats to tell his father, then flees; as he runs, Moody yells that he could tell the boy stories about his father that could curl even Malfoy's "greasy hair." (Heh, Moody must have him confused with Snape! *Grin*) McGonagall asks if Dumbledore told Moody that they never use transfiguration as a punishment, and like a five-year-old caught doing something he was told not to, he admits that Albus might have mentioned it. When her back is turned, he makes a face at her. (Heeeee! I'm really coming to love the actor who's playing Moody, he's perfect!!) Of course, this just goes to show that there's an insane, younger mind in that head than what our eyes see.

Moody takes Harry to his office, where he removes his mechanical leg. Harry notices a strange mirror; Moody explains that it's a Foe Glass, saying that when he can see the whites of his enemies eyes in the glass he knows they're right behind him. (I don’t happen to recognise any of the faces. Shouldn’t Harry's face have been in there? I suppose that the Glass is only shown here to add a it of magic to the story and show Moody's paranoia — because it isn’t used in this film at the point when Harry was supposed to have used it, according to the book.) A box shakes and cries can be heard emanating from it: Moody says he's not even going to bother telling Harry what's in there. (Good way to introduce the box to us!) Then Moody gets down to business, pointing out all the advantages the other players in the Tournament have over Harry, asking the boy what he intends to do. Harry has no idea. Moody asks him what his strengths are, and Harry says flying, but he's not allowed to bring a broom with him to the challenge. Moody points out that he is allowed a wand. Definitely a trimmed down version of the scene, but while I wish we could have seen more of the Dark Detectors (and therefore more of Moody's paranoia), it works fine.

Time for the first challenge of the Tournament. The twins are acting as bookies in the stands (to make up for the fact that they didn’t have a bet with Ludo Bagman, I reckon). The Champions pace around nervously. (I love their clothes, especially Harry's jersey-cloak thingy!) Hermione gets Harry's attention through the canvas of the tent, and tells him he needs to concentrate. (I guess this is in lieu of her telling him to concentrate during the Summoning Charm lessons in the book?) Unable to bear the thought of him getting hurt, she bursts through the wall and throws her arms around him. There's a flash of light — Rita Skeeter and her photographer can just in time to get the shot. Viktor tells her to get out, that the tent is only for the Champions … and friends, meaning Hermione of course. (Heeee! Yes, I'm a die-hard Ron/Hermione shipper, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find Krum's infatuation with Hermione cute. And hey, the poor boy doesn’t get many lines as it is...) Dumbledore comes in with Crouch and a few others, and starts to talk to the Champions. Then he notices Hermione, and asks her, scowling, what she's doing there. (Not my Dumbledore!!! *Snarl* My Dumbledore would have been amused and understanding!) Cowed, Hermione leaves. (Okay, it was kind of funny, but still...)

The Champions choose the dragons they're to battle by drawing small replicas of them from a bag held by Crouch. (They're so cuuuuute! I want one! ^_^) Crouch explains the objective of the challenge, saying they each have to capture a golden dragon egg which has a clue to their next challenge within it. Dumbledore starts to tell Cedric that he can head out when he hears the cannon, when Filch interrupts by setting the cannon off (and nearly collapsing the tent, heheheheh). We don't get to see any of the other's trials against the dragon (okay, so we didn’t in the book either, but at least we heard Bagman's play-by-play!).

It's Harry's turn. (The stadium looks awfully small! Why aren’t they using the Quidditch pitch??) Wonder of wonders, the people in the stands are actually calling Harry's name! Ron's even standing at the corner of a banner that says "Harry" on it. The crowd goes silent, and Harry walks into the arena. He's almost immediately clobbered by the dragon's trail. Harry dodges its tail and flames for a bit (and not always successfully). The crowd looks on, horrified, except for Karkaroff, who laughs. Snape actually looks a bit concerned, though, and Ron almost looks like he's gonna cry. Hermione shouts for Harry to use his wand. He points it at the sky and cries "Accio Firebolt!" (Um, did they ever refer to his broom in this one, to refresh the audience's memory? They certainly didn't explain the Summoning Spell, "Accio"!) A few dodges of the dragon's tail later, Harry's broom comes streaking towards him. He mounts it, with the dragon literally in hot pursuit — even Draco seems to cringe in sympathy as Harry is almost scorched and just misses getting the egg. Harry flies through the stands, right over the teachers and other adults (are you trying to get them killed??). The dragon busts up the awning over the teachers in pursuit of Harry; George yells "Well done, dragon!" (Heeee! Especially since Skeeter got knocked over!)

Harry flies out of the stadium, towards Hogwarts, with the dragon close behind. He gets knocked from his broom and slides down a rooftop. The dragon hops around on nearby roof, trying to reach him while he reaches for his Firebolt. He falls, but he gets his broom. The chase is on again! The dragon sets Harry's cloak on fire, and chases him through a ravine with bridges. Harry falls again. We're taken back to the stands, where the crowd looks about anxiously. They're rewarded when a battered Harry flies back in and grabs the egg.

Cut to the Gryffindor common room, and the victory celebration. Harry is held aloft on the Weasley twins' shoulders as they sing his praises. Seamus kisses the egg reverently, and hands it up to Harry, begging him to open it. Harry taunts the crowd, "Who wants me to open it?" But when he does, they hear a horrible screeching that brings them all to their knees (including the twins, who drop Harry. Ow.) We even get to see the people in the portraits cover their ears in agony (yay, some background magic!!). Harry finally closes it; Ron, standing in one of the doorways, asks what the bloody hell that sound was. The twins tell the crowd to break it up and go back to their knitting, give the boys some privacy.

Harry and Ron approach each other. Ron says he figures anyone would have to be mad to voluntarily put their name in the Goblet. (I don’t like this change; in the book, Ron says that he reckons someone is trying to kill Harry, and that makes more sense. Ron had wanted to put his name in the Goblet himself before, after all, so why would he assume Harry's thinking at the time, before they knew about the dragons, would be any different?) Harry's still a little touchy at first. Ron takes credit for warning Harry about the dragons. Harry asks how he figures that. Ron asks if Harry remembers when he had Hermione tell him that Seamus said Dean said Parvati said Hagrid was looking for him? Well, apparently Seamus never told Ron anything — he was trying to warn Harry himself. Harry laughs and tells Ron he's mental for expecting him to figure that out. Hermione shakes her head, incredulous, and whispers "Boys….", while Ginny rolls her eyes at the lads. (My, they seem to have combined two scenes from the book, as well as a reversal of a scene from The Half-Blood Prince, all in that one word!) It's a cute segment, well-delivered, and a more-than-decent replacement for the boatload of missing scenes from after the challenge.

And I'll leave you with that happy moment for now. Look for the second half of this Microscope next month!

www.harrypotter.com — The official Warner Bros' Harry Potter website.