The Tease of Things I Don't Need

The First Muggle-less Potter

Nick and I finally made it out to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this afternoon following a roughly five hour delay. Hey, it's a holiday weekend. Schedules are for slaves.
Seeing a movie targeted primarily at a child audience on Black Friday was likely not among my swiftest moves, but by and large the audience was well-behaved in the nearly packed theater. Unfortunately, there were some kids with control problems and even more unfortunately four of them chose our row. Some poor woman plainly drew the short straw for her block -- either that, or she promised her own one or two kids she'd take them to see the movie and they spread the invitation out to several friends. I lost count of how many times we heard "this'll be the last time" whispered to us as we had to partially stand up and turn the three inches of clearance between my knees and the seat ahead of me into seven. The youngest kid, probably no more than seven, was something of a tyrant and seemed to expect a wide berth to be given him. I lacked the inspiration to convey to him that he was lucky to be allowed to pass alive after the third time.

But, enough about the ambiance.

As implied in the header, we didn't start the new pre-semester without the ridiculous condition that Harry had gone back to his muggle relatives between terms at Hogwart's. It barely made sense as the second movie began, and was nearly absurd by the third. I was pleased to see that. This made this the first H.P. movie where we were immersed in magical surroundings from start to finish, which was a refreshing change and allowed matters to get off to a faster start. It does raise the question of what these magicians are being raised to do - do they really even want contact with the non-magical world of the muggles, or do they just maintain that contact because they have to fish for adepts out there?

I don't find myself wanting to discuss many plot specifics, as the movie handles itself well and I don't find myself with anything to add.

Director Mike Newell's done a fine job of bringing a richness and nuance to the franchise, reflecting the increased complexity of matters as the central characters' own lives become more complex and they begin to show signs of developing their own lives while still maintaining the bonds of friendship. Indeed, I'm surprised to see he's not signed to handle the next one, which is instead going to David Yates, who (like Newell) is also a brit, but the bulk of whose work has been for television.

The actors are all holding up so far, with the obvious worries surrounding the trio of lead actors who are going through puberty. The emotional and social development for the characters is well-served by it this go-'round, but with each film chronicling a new term at school yet them being released at two year intervals, this is only likely to become more awkward. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) has one of those faces and builds that will likely allow him to play the role for years, but Rupert Grint (Ron) is changing rapidly in a way that may be more difficult to explain two films from now. Emma Watson (Hermione) is undergoing rapid changes, too, but they shifted her more towards a mature look by the end of this film, so she'll likely get by. (Incidentally, she's the only one of the three who hasn't picked up other acting jobs and so doesn't have anything non-Potter on the horizon.) I suppose that if J.K. Rowling were cranking these out a little more quickly they could shoot two of them simultaneously... which it seems to me they could be doing now, since book six has also been out for a little while now. I know, I know... a script has to be worked up first.

A minor spoiler, though I can't imagine it would suprise anyone who cared enough for it to be considered a spoiler:

When the next installment (...and the Order of the Phoenix) debuts in 2007 I'll be interested to see if Harry's let Dumbledore, etc. know that Lucius Malfoy was among the allies of Lord Voldemort in the graveyard scene. If the elitist bastard's just moving about at liberty or at least not under open suspicion I'll be disappointed.