Potter: The Fourth Movie

I didn’t think it was as good as the third, in all honesty. At least from a movie point of view. The first two were rather stiff and felt like a movie adaptation of the books. Three felt like a movie that had a screenplay that was based on the book. Four is still a movie, but without having read the book, I think would have been thoroughly lost.

[minor spoilers after the jump]

Obviously I’m biased and a tainted audience. I knew what was going to happen every step of the way. And more importantly, what didn’t happen. Like the absence of certain CGI characters. And teachers. And Muggle relatives. And political activist groups. And Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. Some things that I thought would make for good movie moments; other things were completely over looked.

Like anything connected to the Quiddich Cup part of the storyline was modded. Strongly modded. It works into the story, given how the screenplay was written (meaning that it makes more sense at the end) but it sorta surprised me. The fact that they left out the entire Quiddich game play segment as well as the team mascots was interesting to me… almost as much as when Peter Jackson refused to film The Scouring of the Shire in Return of the King.

New people were flung at you, without much explanation. Fleur’s background isn’t mentioned at all, which leaves out some joke material; Madame Maxime’s background was left out as well. Rita Skeeter was left completely unresolved… it was good to see a lot of the regulars return for it including McGonaggall, Dumbledore (the second one), and even Filch and Moaning Myrtle – it helps extend the continuity of the franchise. The movie works much, much better for me, since I know the entire back story of everything I’m watching, but I dunno how it would be for people that haven’t read the books… I’m curious to see what Steve thinks of it, once he sees it.

Then again, who would have thought that Shelob wouldn’t be in the movie version of The Two Towers? I didn’t it likely or possible, yet it happened. And it made for better movies, too – the missing pieces here can be back filled in the fifth Potter movie.

Anyway, the effects are exactly what you’d expect: so well done that you forget to watch for them… you don’t even notice them. There were a couple of funny scenes, one of which had me laughing out loud throughout the scene, which I wouldn’t have expected from this movie. I think it is a balanced work over all.

If you saw the first three, you should go catch this one as well.


2 thoughts on “Potter: The Fourth Movie”

  1. Agreed on all points. I missed some of the stuff cut, and there were places that still felt a bit rushed (the ending in particular), but it was a decent, if by no means stand-alone, movie.

  2. I’m not that unhappy about that, either – the non-stand alone movie… I sorta get sick of authors having to recap for ppl that jumped in, in the middle… screw’m I say! :)


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