Watched it last night with my hubby, without the kids. Not because the film was rated PG-13. My kids decided not to watch it after seeing the trailers. Too scary, they said. Finally I got to sit through the entire show without being interrupted. A 2 & 1/2 hr show means at least 2 toilet trips with the kids. Not to mention my girl's "is the show ending soon?" at 5 minutes intervals half way through the show until the end.

So. Do I like the show? Mixed feelings...

Little disappointments...

1. With all that build-up in anticipation prior to the Quidditch World Cup, we should at least get to see some part of the game! I want to see Krum's Wronsky Feint!! I felt like I touched a portkey. One second I was at the game, and the next I was inside their tent.

2. So many characters were axed from the movie.... Winky, Dobby (was looking forward to seeing him again), Ludo Bagman, the Dursleys, Molly Weasley, Percy, Bill & Charlie. Screen time for Draco, Sirius Black (does burning charcoal face in the fireplace count?), Rita Skeeter and even Hedwig were so short. And where's Crookshanks? And all those ghosts floating around in the great hall? And the coverage given to the other 3 competitors, Fleur, Krum & Cedric, was so little that I hardly feel for them even though they were facing the same dangerous tasks as Harry.

3. What's up with the gloomy weather anyway? I know this episode is darker than the precessors, but is all that 'evil' reinforcement with stormy, foggy weather really necessary?

4. Dumbledore is one of my favorite characters. In all the books, Dumbledore is wise, calm, composed and totally in control of his emotions. But in this movie, Dumbledore is so easily agitated, so impatient and seemed so helpless at times. He's forever raising his voice unnecessarily. And he actually grabbed Harry by his neck shoulders when he demanded to know whether Harry had placed his name in the goblet.

5. Cho in a cheongsum and Parvati in sari? hmm... racial harmony day?

6. The 3rd task.. only self-collapsing hedges and leg-snarling roots?

7. The disagreement between Dumbledore & Cornelius Fudge was taken out. I thought this was a significant exchange since it's a prelude to the Ministry's interference in the running of Hogwarts in book 5. The last portion in the movie is rather anti-climax too. Oh well. I'm nitcpicking.

I know trying to squeeze a 700-page book into a 2 1/2 hr movie is no easy task but I was hoping for more. This movie seemed more like a chronological documentation of events rather than developing the storyline. I'm a Harry Potter fan and I have gone through the books a few times. So perhaps I'm being biased. I wonder how a person, who has not read the book, will like the movie. My hubby, not exactly a HP-fan, thought the show lack punch and has lost the magical feel of the first movie.

Overall I would give it a 7 out of 10. The cast, especially Rita, Moody, and Voldemort's roles, was excellent. But the part of Rita Skeeter was so compressed that she appeared funny and cute rather than obnoxious. The dragon & underwater tasks were quite nicely done. (Although I didn't quite understand why was the dragon clinging and clawing the turret instead of flying to attack Harry.)

There were funny moments too such as the part where Hermione said "we didn't really talk at all. Viktor's more of a physical being" and the scene where Harry & Ron sat dejectedly, watching their desired dates dancing with other guys.

And oh yeah, the Dark Mark was totally cool. I wouldn't object to having a tattoo like that. heehee

Labels: TV/Movies