A Bad Harry Potter Movie Exists, and it's Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter is one of the best film adaptations of a book series yet, with one huge exception. Join me as I go through the myriad ways in which Goblet of Fire is the worst Harry Potter movie, from screaming lunatic Dumbledore to overly sexualized child stars, and everything in between.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is owned by Warner Bros Pictures.

[jorklersfandom]

One comment I’d like to make. If your only takeaway from this video is that I don’t like the film because it isn’t like the book, you weren’t paying attention. All of the films deviate from the books to some extent, and sometimes for the better. Goblet of Fire is the only one where it deviating is a symptom of a larger problem, the film’s lack of respect for itself.

[godabandonedthistimeline]

Hot take: David Tennant was an excellent casting choice for Barty Crouch Jr.
The reason why he was so bad in this movie was bad direction and lack of material to work with. They cut Barty's backstory and left him 3 scenes so the director made him act like this to make him scarier.
David Tennant can play this character and he has. His casting was good but not his direction.
A different actor wouldn't have saved the character of Barty Crouch Jr.

[jaikumarjadhav]

Graveyard scene was absolutely bone-chilling the first time. Imagine few scenes more from the books!

[AllySheehan]

i actually find the "i love magic" line super endearing
as a muggle-raised kid, largely neglected, it felt in-character and endearing to show he's still enamoured by it, compared to the weasley's who grew up with it and take it for granted

[toeray]

One of the things I hate about this movie is how they tried to paint the other champions as antagonists to Harry. The tournament itself is Harry's enemy until Voldy's machinations are revealed at the end. Harry is just trying to SURVIVE it. He barely thinks about winning until he's deep in the maze and even then he tries to give it to Cedric with a "Hey man you signed up for this and I didn't" line when they're standing over the cup. It's like a sporting event infamous for its difficulty... like a marathon or the US Open. The ability to compete is its own honor.

Fleur is a bit vain (French and pretty teen girl stereotype) but she softens considerably after the second task when her character gets more screen time. Krum is introverted and doesn't take to being a global superstar athlete. He reads like an Eastern European stereotype where he's cold and distant until the gang gets to know him better. Cedric is just a good kid who's worst crime is he beat Harry at Quidditch once and asked out Harry's crush before Harry did. Harry gets a giant dose of perspective after the graveyard and has MAJOR PTSD re: Cedric's death to the point where he breaks down in front of everyone and has to be sedated.

[candykkhorsesngp]

Personally I hate the line at the end where they’re LAUGHING and Ron says ‘do you think we’ll ever have a quiet year at Hogwarts?’
Considering Cedric’s death plagues Harry and is meant to be a heavy blow and the next scene they’re all having a good old laugh 😂

[PristinePerceptions]

The best actor in Goblet of Fire was Jeff Rawle, who played Amos Diggory. He was there for like 2 scenes, and he killed it in one of them.

[rajangrewal]

I feel like this maybe is a bad adaptation rather than a bad movie. When I saw this before reading the books, I really enjoyed it.

[Critics_]

Half-Blood prince is objectively way worse.
1. The Halfbloodprince doesnt Matter at all in that movie
2. Only 2 voldemort remories and the movie is streichen with the cheap plot that Slughorn is emberassed so he doesn't show the real memory
2. Extremely cringe romcom

[denisucuuu]

There is a chapter in the Goblet of Fire book named "The Egg and the Eye". It consists of Harry figuring out the Golden Egg's clue, making Myrtle actually interesting instead of rapey, and then him sneaking back through the castle. In the movie, this is all that's kept. Instead of putting in the useless Beauxbatons and Durmstrang scenes, they should have added this masterpiece of a scene that follows the clue.

Harry uses the Marauder's Map (never mentioned post PoA in the movies) and the Invisibility Cloak to sneak through the castle when he sees Barty Crouch moving around in Snape's office. Going to investigate, he accidentally falls into the ghost step (foreshadowed by Neville getting stuck prior). He drops the Marauder's Map and then the Golden Egg, which falls down the steps and starts screeching. Filch comes around and we think Harry's screwed, but then he blames it on Peeves (foreshadowed by Peeves specifically targetting Filch with other pranks prior). Snape comes along and we think Harry's screwed again, because Snape knows about the Marauder's Map AND the Invisibility Cloak. Still, Harry remains hidden, and Snape instead asks Filch about somebody breaking into his office, stealing Gillyweed (this was Dobby) and Polyjuice Potion supplies (this opens a new mystery that greatly empowers the impact of the Crouch Jr plot twist). As Harry is about to be caught, we hear *clunk clunk clunk*, which has become Mad-Eye Moody's signature callsign. We think Harry's screwed, because Moody's magical eye can see through Invisibility Cloaks (foreshadowed prior). However, Moody doesn't say anything to Snape or Filch about Harry being right there next to them. Moody accuses Snape, bringing his Death Eater history into discussion (something the movie completely fails to do). After telling him to leave, Moody says Snape dropped something, then points to the Marauder's Map. Harry mouths "It's mine! Mine!", Moody makes an excuse, but Snape catches on.

"Potter, " he says, "Potter! That egg is Potter's egg. That piece of parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before, I recognise it! Potter is here! Potter, in his Invisibility Cloak!"

Now we TRULY think Harry's screwed. Moody accuses Snape once again, this time saying he'll tell Dumbledore that Snape is out for Harry. Snape admits defeat and leaves.

Moody helps Harry up, returns his Egg and Map. Harry tells Moody that it was Crouch who broke into Snape's office. Moody appears to be thinking, but of course, we know he is Crouch Jr, and it was not Crouch Sr who Harry saw, but rather "Moody" himself. The imposter then drops this absolute gem of a line:

"They say old Mad-Eye's obsessed with catching Dark wizards... but Mad-Eye's nothing - _nothing_ - compared to Barty Crouch."

This is maybe the best piece of dialogue to re-read. It characterizes Moody, Crouch Sr AND Crouch Jr at the same time. It is Crouch Jr who is talking, but since he doesn't speak in the first person, he could very well be talking about the real Moody, who is still nothing compared to his father, the man who put his own son into Azkaban because he was a Dark wizard - all the while creating mystery for first time readers.

This is the defining scene that ends the second third of the book. It is PERFECT. To top it all off, there is even *more* foreshadowing as Moody asks him if he managed to work out the clue (he actually told Cedric, hoping that he helps Harry), and then Moody asks him if he wants to pursue a career as an Auror, something that is brought up many times after this point.

Notice how I mentioned that we think Harry's screwed like four times during the scene? That's *tension*. Something the movie completely forgets about, instead spending 20 minutes on the Yule Ball and not even doing it right. What, I wonder, was the point of cutting out this marvellous succession of events? Oh well, at least the graveyard was good.

[CrashDunning]

The reason everyone's hair is so long is because for the previous three films, the actors were told to grow it out by the hair stylists so they could get it cut as needed when they got to the set of the next film. No one told the director for Goblet of Fire this and he just kept it as is for the hell of it.

[Luke]

Huge fan of the books. This movie admittedly leaves out many important elements from the book. However, arguably the most important sequence from that story, Voldemort’s rebirth, is absolutely nailed in this film. And I stand by that. The mood of this entire franchise shifts when Wormtail kills Cedric, then proceeds to slice open Harry’s wrist and sever his own hand. It’s very disturbing. Voldemort looks horrifying, the way Finnes moves and hisses his lines is exactly the way I pictured him while reading the book. Radcliffe really shines here, selling Harry’s fear but determination to not be a coward and to face Voldemort anyway. It’s great and marks the point in this franchise where it’s not fun and games anymore. People are gonna die and it’s about to get very dark

[BlueGuyTube]

The most disappointing thing about the music in this and future movies is that Voldemort himself doesn't have a memorable score to accompany him. It's always just creepy and eerie music. Big villains like him in big franchises usually have a memorable theme, something that almost becomes part of the character itself. I especially love when movies make the theme start just before the villain comes into the scene, such as how sometimes the Imperial March plays in Star Wars. It's like they're annouincing their presence, like trumpets before a king, something that demands everyone's attention. I don't think Voldemort needed a bombastic theme, but even a creepy jingle would have been enough.

[CodyJMinor]

There are a couple of aspects of this film that I will defend:
1 - I do love Patrick Doyle's score. He didn't use John Williams's original themes as much as he could've, but the London Symphony Orchestra did a beautiful job performing the music and Doyle did have an interesting take of twisting up Williams' iconic "Hedwig's Theme".
2 - Roger Pratt's cinematography, for the most part, was beautiful and he gave the film a lot of interesting visuals.
3 - Stuart Craig was as consistent as could be with the overlook of the film series, his sets and the assistance of set decorator Stephenie McMillan being a top highlight of all eight Potter films.
4 - The visual effects were top tier for 2005 and do hold up when compared to VFX seen in most films nowadays.
5 - The castings of Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson were phenomenal additions to the cast.

[ScatterBrainedYouBetterFollow]

I can’t believe Ron saw those people throwing themselves out of that building and still decided to send a second plane

[patrickbuckley]

Goblet has issues sure, but let's not let Half-Blood Prince off the hook either.

[Summer-ofzk]

The blame must ultimately lie with the director Newell, the fact he didn't read the books says it all really.

[kyrarobinson]

Fun fact I learned earlier this week! Their hair is so long because the new director didn't know that the previous director had told the actors NOT to cut their hair for styling purposes. The new director went on set, saw their hair, and was just like "ya, that's good, this is it"

[sashaking]

Frank Bryce is done soooo dirty in the film!!! In the book, he has some great lines, such as the first scene where he faces Voldemort, where he tells him he doesn’t think much of his manners and to face him like a man. And also, in the graveyard scene, when he comes out of Voldemort’s wand, he says, ‘He was a real wizard, then? Killed me, that one did, you fight him boy.’
In the film, his only line is ‘Bloody kids!’

[Ajaws]

Worst movie is a crazy statement when Half-Blood Prince exists