Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I'm operating on three and a half-hours of sleep and an extra cup of remarkably strong coffee today. That's because I was out all night Pottering. (When I'm fully awake and read that sentence again, I'm going to cringe and want to cry.)

We caught the first showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at midnight. Now I can claim to be one of the first to see the movie. Well, actually, the first to see about 95% of the movie. I accidentally dozed off for a few minutes somewhere in the middle.

It was a spontaneous decision to go. We were watching the six o'clock news and they ran a story about the sold out showing of Goblet of Fire in Santa Cruz. This, of course, prompted me to ask M, "So, if our theater had available seats for Harry at midnight, would you go?" She said yes and eighteen seconds later (give or take an hour), we were at the ticket window.

We bought tickets and since there were only five or six teenagers camping in the seating queue, we decided to return an hour before the movie. When we returned, the group of six or so had become a mob of 1,123 (give or take a thousand). Teens and tweens made up most of the crowd with a few parents thrown in for variety. Nobody wore house colors or had lightning bolt scars on their foreheads, which was disappointing.

Anyway, afterwards, my initial opinion was that the movie was merely okay. I liked it, but was dissatisfied with how abruptly it seemed to end. In many parts, it felt as though the editor paid more attention to the clock than the story. And I couldn't get over Rupert Grint's hair. He plays Ron Weasley. His hair was very red, very big and very there.

With a few hours to sleep on it, my current opinion is that it was good (the movie, not the hair), but not great. The film had a wonderful blend of humor and heaviness, but it was spread over a forced mixture of action, suspense and romance (manifested as moments of awkwardness or jealousy). The usual cast of students and professors didn't have more than cameo appearances, but on the bright side, that allowed more time for the interesting and creepy "Mad-Eye" Moody, the latest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Was the movie worth getting less than four hours of sleep? For avid Potter fans (and I include myself), I'd say yes. For others, I'd say no, but would also say it's a worthwhile matinee.

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Sorceror's Stone
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Chamber of Secrets

Only two more years until Order of the Phoenix arrives!