Review of GoF; spoilers

[cubfanbudwoman]

nicholas dean wrote:
> I found GoF very much of a mixed bag. 
<snip>
> The pluses:-
<snip>
> - Ron given a greater range of emotion; no longer just comic 
> relief, this time around he was played much closer to his character 
> in the books.
> 
> - The scene where Ron had asked Fleur to the Yule Ball. Brilliantly 
> acted.
> 
> - The editing (in agreement with Richard), particularly the cut 
> from the end of the first task to the Gryffindor Common Room. I 
> smiled to think of what Chris Columbus would have done with the end 
> of the first task; at least three laps of the stadium on the 
> Firebolt, with everyone cheering (even the Slytherins and 
> Durmstrangs).

SSSusan:
LOL!!  Isn't this the truth?  I'd not considered this, but you've 
nailed it. :-)


nicholas:
> However, I really disliked the camerawork in the Yule Ball 
> sequence. Way too choppy.
>
> Minuses;
> 
> - The ending was very weak. It was never going to be an easy thing 
> to film,  as a sense of anti-climax, combined with grief and 
> foreboding, is not a great way to end a movie. What they came up 
> with was just too wishy-washy. 
> 
> -The maze. I thought it was incredibly badly done.  <snip> I didn't 
> really expect there to be all of the challenges of the book, but a 
> few would have been nice. 
<snip>
> But my main objection to GoF is with the storytelling.  ... the 
> book does a good job of letting the reader know that things are 
> going on behind the scenes and that Voldemort is indeed closing in 
> on Harry. The movie, however, fails to do this....
<snip> 
> This is the reason why it was a mistake to all but write out Sirius 
> from the movie; because in the book, it is he alone who keeps his 
> focus firmly on Harry, and it is Sirius who keeps reminding the 
> reader that something else is going on.
> 
> Quite apart from the damage to the internal logic of the story, how 
> in the world are they going to explain Harry's devastation at the 
> loss of Sirius at the end of OoP? They have done nothing to show 
> the ongoing relationship and to persuade us that Sirius has become 
> a father-figure to Harry.


SSSusan:
Fascinating review.  I had been annoyed by a couple of the same 
things you were (choppy Yule Ball scene, leaving *no* tasks inside 
the maze), impressed by many of the same things (Rupert in the post-
asking-Fleur scene, Dan underwater), and concerned about some of what 
was left out.  

However, you've made it exceedingly clear WHY leaving out Oldman so 
drastically may make the OOP movie very difficult to pull off 
indeed.  Not to mention that it's a new *screenwriter* (Michael 
Goldenberg) for OOP as well.  Was he privvy to what Kloves was/wasn't 
doing in GoF?  Did he trust Kloves/Newell to set up the Sirius-Harry 
closeness for him?  You're right that this could be problematic, or 
could force the Goldenberg/Yates team to have to spend some serious 
time (and where will they get *that*?) demonstrating to us... 
somehow... that Harry & Sirius are very close.  Not only would that 
take some time, it might not "fit" well with the OOP story, because 
by the start of OOP, Harry's in CAPSLOCK! mode, and Sirius is surly 
and mopey about being stuck at 12GP.  

I was already worried about OOP translating to film... now I'm even 
more worried.

Siriusly Snapey Susan