Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - - (Spoiler zone)

[Alex]

I think that what Alex may be missing is that the appeal of Harry Potter is not really in that he is this nascent wunderkind sorceror, but that he is a decent, loyal and quick-thinking young man who is kind and caring to friends and teachers alike.

If the phrase I've bolded is true of the books it hasn't been translated to the movies at all. I don't think I've yet see him think his way out of trouble.

And he wasn't saved by his karma where others rewarded him for past good deeds. He was manipulated by evil who needed him in the competition and manipulated things to their desired end (and this whole set up is assinine since there is no reason given in the movie for why what happened at the end of the tournament needed to be done in the tournament and couldn't have been achieved through more straightforward means).

But I promise to stop now since as I think more about the movie I find myself liking it even less.

In good news, in preparation for Narnia I did read two of those books and they were good enough (if awfully blunt in their recasting of Christian mythology). I have hopes for the movie.