Film Review
Harry Potter 4: Another
Way to Spell ‘Awesome’

By Eamonn Rockwell (November 17, 2005)

There’s a reason I woke up this morning, and it was to see this movie. I’m not going to say it was the best movie of the year only because I haven’t seen every movie that came out this year, but I’m extremely tempted to do so. The series gets better and better with every book, and the movies are definitely no different. Anyone who says differently or does not praise these movies can be hanged for treason against Hollywood. I could make some stupid clichéd saying about how this one has “four times the action/adventure/time” but that would make me a terrible person, so I won’t.

Where to start? It doesn’t matter; every part of the movie was excellent. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the storyline, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is a famous magical boy who survived a curse that kills everyone it’s used on, including his parents. He didn’t know about it until he was 11 and was whisked away to a magical school. Now Harry’s fourteen and dealing with some issues, the principal one being entered in a tournament meant for older students that usually ends with death in a gruesome fashion. With pressure mounting, a slight tiff with his friend Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and with a repetitive nightmare growing stronger, the intensity builds like a condo in this town. I can’t give too much away, because doing so would ruin everything and I would never be able to forgive myself and might cry myself to sleep about it every night, so I’ll try to limit the plot as much as possible. But there, enough of this blather.

The effects people in this movie will be given Oscars. I’ve said it, so now there’s no chance that it won’t happen. Hell will freeze over and Coke will turn into Pepsi if those geniuses are not given the prizes that are due them. These effects aren’t for kids. Of course they had the standard little stuff in the background such as subjects in paintings moving around and books moving into shelves, but when things get going, they really get going. Harry and the other contestants have to compete with a dragon at one point. The dragons will shock you right out of your pants, so be sure to superglue your pants to your legs before going to see this fine piece of cinematic art. The dragon fight sequence is basically an excuse for computer graphic artists to show why they are superhuman beings that live among us, and I’m not even thinking about complaining. Although they took a few liberties with the novel and made up a few things, fans of the books will be too busy sitting on the edge of their seats to notice, and will probably not mind when they look back on it afterwards. The other computer glory is an underwater sequence that will change the way filmgoers think about lakes.

The films get better, as well as the young actors and the new additions. Although Radcliffe and Grint are hardly the best actors that have ever lived, they go beyond the minimum requirements, which I wish Keanu Reeves would do once in awhile. Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) can take those boys to Hogwarts School any day of the week and still look pretty doing it, which brings me to my next point. Wow. If I wasn’t so poor/lazy, I’d hire Daniel Radcliffe’s trainer, and if he doesn’t have one, then he’s doing something, dare I say it, magical. The man is ripped. I have only two words for you readers: “Bath Scene.” If you wished that he was just a skinny kid, then this movie might be the worst you’ll ever seen in your life. In addition, all the women who played students from the other schools (Beauxbatons Academy and Drumstrang Institute) are basically supermodels who needed some screen time. As the old saying goes, “More Supermodels in Movies!” I’m not sure where I heard that, or even if I made it up just now, but it’s not important. Ralph Feinnes makes almost all other actors obsolete as Lord Voldemort. He doesn’t waste time telling you what he wants to do to Harry Potter. “I’m going to kill you Harry Potter. I’m going to destroy you.” If only our politicians could put it in such simple words.

I can’t lie to the fans or myself though, not everything in the movie was perfect. Some parts of the plot had to be skipped or the movie would drag on forever with details. There’s also a fine line that should not be crossed involving magic and rock music. The “band” in the movie definitely comes off as being cheesier than cheese-whiz, even though it is made up of a few members of everyone’s favorite alternative group, Radiohead. Still, small plot exemptions have to be taken in the film industry, and director Mike Newell does it so that fans will be more than content and non-fans will be blown away. If you refuse to see this movie, you are not a decent human being, and there’s no other way to put. For the rest of you, go out and see it IMMEDIATELY!