If you've been to see the Goblet of Fire, you know that it has some of the most believable, seamless special effects of any fantasy movie. The dragon is the best I've seen. The underwater scene, in which Harry turns into a fish-person, is eerie and convincing. Merpeople and grindylows are believable.
Unfortunately, these beautiful, stunning, entertaining effects diminish the main line of the story of Goblet of Fire, take away the tension. Rowling's Goblet of Fire is a two-layered thriller. The background line is the extreme threat of Voldemort in Harry's life. The foreground school story features everyday challenges that are not evil, but extremely difficult, and this is the sense that is missing from the movie.
In the books, the TriWizard Tournament is a somewhat-over-the-top school event. It reminds me of the Wide Games we used to hold at Girl Scout camp, where everyone went all-out for some kind of theme adventure in which we immersed ourselves for a few hours or a few days. If it's a little overenthusiastic, well, so are our state football championships. People get hurt in them, too.
In the book, the dragon challenge is plenty real to Harry and the contestants, but the dragons are tethered, and a dozen wizards are standing by to stun the beasts if they get out of hand. It's a challenge of nerve, preparation and courage. We are priveleged to Harry's feelings of inadequacy and dread, and his huge relief when he finds himself able to use his Quiddich skill to meet the challenge well.
Harry's preparation for the second task is mostly avoidance. Rowling makes exquisite use of his awareness of time passing without this huge problem being solved. He does eventually start to prepare, but not soon enough were it not for luck (Dobby's help). When the task happens, the merpeople are there to see to the contestants' safety. Harry's near-drowning in the movie, while entertaining, would not have happened in the book-story. And for this reason, the book gives us the emotional tension of Harry's accomplishing the task, followed by acute embarrassment at coming in last because of taking it too seriously. He conquered the physical challenge, but missed the boat on the social challenge, he thinks, and THEN is exonerated by the judge's award of second place for "moral fibre." To me, this is more emotionally satisfying than a pretty rescue and escape scene.
The third task is very different for Harry. The second task has taught him how to prepare, and he, Hermione, and Ron spend a very large amount of time cramming and preparing. They research magical techniques, practice and perfect them. For the third task, Harry is nervous, but not afraid. He is ready. It's a real challenge, and the true challenge, as we see, is not one of skill, but of his sense of fairness.
THEN, the evil of Voldemort breaks in. And it is really evil. But Harry has grown, and his escape is not just luck or protection. His own growth is a very real part of what saves him.
So you see, the over-the-top movie effects cheat Harry of the very real accomplishments and growth. They also cheat the story line, for when the true beyond-his-skill challenge of Voldemort comes, we've long since suspended our disbelief, so there's no real shock or surprise. It's just another fantasy story.
Reading between the lines, director Mike Newell has said he was frustrated that the special effects had such a life of their own. I agree. Stunning as they are, they took away from the chance to tell the human story--a story of a person faced with difficulties who learns to overcome them, later finding himself able to prevail against unexpected difficulty.
I read somewhere that the special-effects people are salivating at their chance to portray Grawp in the next story. Well, I'd like to see Grawp well-done, but even more, I'd like to see the character interplay of the human side of the story. Order of the Phoenix is very much about people, their misconceptions in time of danger, their blindness and meanness. Ultimately it becomes the story of their ability (esp. Dumbledore's Army) to take charge of their own lives cooperatively. I'd hate to let this human story be swamped by special effects.
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