Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Movie Review:


For this fourth Harry Potter adventure, Newell skilfully maintains the dark, gritty edge Alfonso Cuaron added to the series, while adding a stream of gentle-but-funny Four Weddings-type romantic comedy. This isn't quite as introspective as Part 3, but it's hugely entertaining.

We get straight into the plot without even a glimpse of Harry's miserable muggle summer: the Lord You Know Who is still haunting Harry's dreams. This year Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard Cup, for which Harry is surprisingly enlisted. At 14, he's under-aged, competing against much stronger wizards (Pattinson, Ianevski and Poesy). But more terrifying than battling dragons or underwater creatures is the need to ask a girl to the Christmas dance. And those sinister dreams won't stop.

This feels like a much bigger film than previous instalments. The story has an epic horror scope; we know from the beginning that something seriously awful is afoot, and Newell deftly avoids the mistake of making a kids' movie in which even the worst threat feels safe. He also focuses on characters, not effects, so that as it reaches the frighteningly nasty climax, there's a huge rush of unexpected emotion. And as Harry and pals Hermoine and Ron (Watson and Grint) continue to grow up, they're facing real adolescent and adult issues.

Ratcliffe handles the dramatic scenes beautifully, shows reluctant-but-dashing flair in the thrilling action sequences, and even gets a couple of beefcake moments. Watson and Grint are also allowed to develop their characters even further than JK Rowling does in her books. Of the returning teachers, Gambon gets the most screen time, while Smith and Rickman get the scene-stealing moments. The new cast's stand-outs include Richardson's pesky journalist and Fiennes as Voldemort incarnate (although his look is a little extreme). The film's star, though, is the wonderful Gleeson as Mad-eye Moody, investing each scene with a devilishly gleeful twitch.

Technically, these films get better and better. The effects are nearly seamless, and the story rockets along like Harry on his Firebolt. Newell balances the comedy and thrills expertly, and dares to notch it up, reflecting the fact that these kids are maturing. Which bodes well for the even darker times ahead.



Rich Cline

Do you know what’s strange? We are already witnessing the fourth Harry Potter film and it just seems like yesterday we were introduced to the boy wizard as he began his first day at the wizarding school, Hogwarts. My goodness, do they grow up fast.

Yes that’s right, our young bright-eyed Harry is starting to grow up and “Goblet of Fire” is just the beginning of Harry’s ascent into adolescence.

This time out, young Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to the school to find out that the school will be hosting a most prestigious tournament called the Triwizard Tournament where two rival schools come to Hogwarts to compete for The Triwizard Cup.

A champion from each of the rival schools and Hogwarts will be chosen by the ominous Goblet of Fire. The goblet will only allow seniors at the participating schools to compete in three harrowing tasks. The first champion to finish all the tasks wins.

In a conspiracy filled mishap, four champions are chosen this time and mysteriously Harry Potter is the first ever fourth champion. How did Harry’s name get in the cup since he is much too young? Did Harry find a way to get his name in the cup? Furthermore, who will win this tournament of champions?

This fourth film can probably be singled out as the best of the series thus far because it embraces everything that is Harry Potter. The wizarding trials, the effects and the evolving relationships between the central trio (Harry, Hermoine and Ron) are all the cement that keeps this series going. In this film we see an evolution in each of these key aspects of the film.

The biggest problem with this entry in the series is the sure scope of it and the length of the book to which it is based. Transferring that book to film must have been a huge task unto itself. The narrowing down of the materials does affect the quality of this film and there are places where the film feels rushed. This is felt very evident in the film’s first fifteen minutes and the downplaying of a lot of the ensemble cast of teachers including Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. If it would have been me as the director I probably would have skipped the whole Quidditch World Cup segment all together and then did more relationship based scenes at Hogwarts.

The reason I like this film probably the best because we finally see the world of wizards expanded from just schoolyard activities. There is no Quidditch. We get to see a whole host of new characters and finally we get to see the series central villain in the flesh. Also as Harry grows up the films are getting darker and far more entertaining.

I pity the poor soul who walks into this film not knowing anything about Harry Potter. They will be surely lost and disappointed but what did you expect when it’s the fourth film in a series. Rent the DVDs!

You almost have to step back and look at each entry in the series as a chapter in one huge novel. The problem is that the films really haven’t focused a lot on the central plot of the series until now. A lot of the central plot has been cut from the previous film entries.

Harry Potter is probably the best film franchise going right now and I have to say I am excited about seeing it get to its final series conclusion with the seventh film.

So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

Harry Potter’s (Radcliffe) fourth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry starts with an attack at the Quidditch World Cup by Death Eaters, the loyal followers of Lord Voldemort. As Albus Dumbledore (Gambon) and the Ministry of Magic investigate, the Tri-Wizard tournament starts and the magical Goblet of Fire selects the three contestants from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute that will face three challenging and dangerous contests. This tournament is going to be very different as the Goblet of Fire has chosen a fourth wizard to join the contest and that student is Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling’s fourth book in the series hits the big screen but is Harry Potter’s new year at Hogwarts as good as his previous academic years? The answer is a magical yes.

When it comes to family entertainment you can’t get much better than the Harry Potter franchise. The stories of the boy who lived have captivated the cinema going public as much as it did with the readers of the books. Now as Harry enters his fourth onscreen year at Hogwarts, we witness some real changes not just to the world he inhabits but also to the boy himself.

Darkness comes to the franchise as Lord Voldemort’s influence starts to return as the forces evil gather strength. This, of course creates problems for not just the Ministry of Magic and the faculty of Hogwarts but for Harry, as he becomes the focus of evil once again. He also has to contend with the Tri-Wizard tournament, a competition that is as dangerous as it is prestigious. As well has these two dangers to his life he also has to come to terms with growing up and all the trappings that come with been a teenager.

This is the year that Harry, Ron and Hermione become young adults and experience all the problems that come with that. The relationship between the trio changes dramatically with tensions and jealousy coming to the forefront. We see them discover the opposite sex, as the pressure of their first ball sees Ron and Harry struggle to find dates and Hermione become the centre of attention. This adds depth to all three characters as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint continue to grow into their roles. Of them all, it is Daniel Radcliffe that grows the most however. Whereas Emma Watson and Rupert Grint established themselves very quickly in their roles, Radcliffe never quite felt as natural as his on screen friends. While he did improve in ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’, it is this movie that he finally becomes the Harry all of the fans have been hoping for.

The fourth instalment also sees the introduction of more youngsters into the fold. As well as the returning Fred, George and Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom and the rest of the Hogwarts students we have some new pupils to meet. Robert Pattinson plays the hero of Hogwarts Cedric Diggory. Katie Leung makes her motion picture debut as the object of Harry’s affections Cho Chang. Stanislav Ianevski is the world’s best Quidditch player Viktor Krum. Beauxbatons Academy’s representative is Fleur Delacour played by Clémence Poésy. These are important characters to the story but only Cedric Diggory gets the screen time and development unfortunately.

As with all the films in the franchise, the adult cast is made up of the best of British. Along with returning Potter stalwarts Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Timothy Spall, Jason Isaacs and Michael Gambon who enjoys his second stint as Albus Dumbledore, we have some new thespians joining the Harry Potter family. Miranda Richardson is Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter, who will do anything and go anywhere to get a story, even though she doesn’t always report the truth. David Tennant plays Voldemort’s disciple Barty Crouch Junior. Almost stealing the show is Brendan Gleeson as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Alastor 'MadEye' Moody. As with all the dark arts professors, he has an important role to play and is one of the most entertaining characters of the movie. The main new character however is the one who’s name we cannot say. Ralph Fiennes instils a real sense of evil into him to produce a genuinely frightening source of pure evil.

The forth film is far darker than any of the other Potter story and might not be suitable for younger viewers. It is this fact however that makes the movie completely riveting throughout. The presence and threat of pure evil makes this quite scary for people of any age. This is fact is also made all more prominent by the amazing visuals. From the dream sequences to the jaw-dropping dragon contest, the visual effects are the best seen in the series and really enhance the storytelling.

‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ is another brilliant addition to the franchise and a must see for all fans of the young wizard. These films are the best examples of family entertainment to hit the silver screen, even though this one is a lot darker than the previous three. Intelligent, funny and downright scary in parts, this is the adventure that sees Harry and his friends grow to face the dangers that are still to come.

Jamie Kelwick

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