"Harry Potter" Is Kinda Creepy (But not in the way you'd think)

I have to admit that I did enjoy the 4th Harry Potter movie (Goblet of Fire! OOOOOH). It moves briskly from place to place and keeps that same pace of discovery that has made the Potter books and films so popular. There's always something new, some new spell, some new creature/object/book/person to discover. And the visual presentation of Potter's world is, as always, stunning.

While there are elements of the story that might be disturbing to small children, it's actually a pleasant reprieve from the gore and ludeness of many other films.

All of that led to an enjoyable movie experience. Though this film, like the other Potter movies, left me with an uneasy feeling.

The story is... um... colorful (read forced). Due to a technical malfunction, Potter is selected as the fourth competitor in what the film's characters consistently refer to (without irony) as the Tri-Wizard tournament. While the four of them undertake inane magical contests in the quest for the... er... Tri-Wizard Cup, Harry's also facing veiled threats from Voldemort (bad-guy) and dealing with the problems of being a Tween. His friends hate him, no one understands him, and all he wants is to be left alone.

Also, Hermione (12) starts dating some russian dude (18+). And creepily, all the guy wants to do is "watch her study". Yah. Right. These kids are in need of some serious parental oversite.

In a nice change of pace, they've added some bit parts for ethnicities. Including an Irish-Asian girl who Harry is sweet on, and two Indian girls who Harry and Ron take to a dance. Now that's inclusiveness.

Harry muddles his way through the competition and his social life, blindly, awkwardly and idiotically. All the while complaining that he doesn't want to be special. But everyone around him winks and smiles. He is special, you see! So very special they say as they smile! Yay, Harry Potter! You've done it again!

But, and here lies the hidden creepiness of this movie, Harry's actually not special. His character isn't flawed, it's non-existant. When the movie demands that he cower, he cowers. When it demands that he be brave, he's brave. When he needs amazing magical powers? Bam! Amazing magical powers. When he needs to be magically weak? Bam! No magical powers to speak of. Hmmm...

The only ability he consistently has in this movie is ultra-sonic whining.

And that's the problem with this movie. Harry's not a hero. He's a perpetual victim of circumstance. The people around him worship him, they're enthalled by his successes. But we know that he's just a kid and his successes have more to do with happenstance than anything else.

Harry doesn't do things; things happen to him. Kinda sucks for Harry, but it really sucks for the viewership. Maybe it's the English-ness of the films, with their strange turns of phrase and stiff-upper-lip mentality. Maybe that's how the like their stories told.

Perhaps it's small-minded of me, but I really do prefer my movies to have a hero. Or at least a protaganist. Harry Potter's films (and quite possibly the books as well) don't have a protagnist. Despite having his name of the cover, Harry doesn't move the story.

Still, the Potter movies have an excellent combination of steady direction and solid character acting. And the success of the Potter books has opened up a wonderland, where the old horses of fantasy fiction are set free and wild on the screen. Which is a treat in and of itself and something I, personally, hope I never tire of.

But, in the end, when everything has turned out right and everyone is back where they started, you can't help but wonder if anything actually happened.