Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Rating: 4.25/5

Though Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire may not be as faithful as some of the other adaptations, it is a wonderfully magical film nonetheless.

In the summer before Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) fourth year at Hogwarts, he is invited to go to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley family. What is supposed to be a fun and exciting sporting event, is quickly turned into the makings of a nightmare when hooded figures raid the event's campsite and wreak havoc upon the spectators.

After the chaos of the World Cup, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) are apprehensive as they head into their new year of school. Before they can even settle into their classes, it is announced that Hogwarts will be hosting the famed and infamous Triwizard Tournament; a set of three incredibly dangerous tasks to be completed by three champions. With the arrival of the students from the other two competing schools, Harry's year becomes anything less than ordinary.

In all fairness to the Goblet of Fire, the book in which it is based upon does have an incredibly vast amount of events and information to cover, so it is understandable that details had to be omitted when turning the book into a movie. However, the film adds in scenes that do not exist in the novel, thus taking away valuable screen time that could have been used for actual moments from its' source. By adding in this previously nonexistent material, the actual events from the book appear to go by in rapid succession and miss the necessary depth needed to fully explain the plot.

Emotionally, things get very heavy in this installment in comparison to its' predecessors. One of the most memorable moments comes from not one of the main characters, but one that has only a few minutes of screen time throughout the movie's duration. Without divulging any spoilers to those who somehow are unaware of the events of the film or book, all I can say is that this particular character's sorrow is incredibly real and casts a dark shadow over any previous happiness the story may have had. His performance is one that has always stuck out to me ever since I first watched this movie many years ago. Another performance of note is that of Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of Lord Voldemort. This was a character fans of the book, myself included, were very eager to see on the screen and finally see how this notorious villain would look and behave. Fiennes adds an almost balletic quality to the way in which he moves, and it is his lightness of foot that helps to make Voldemort even more frightening than one could have imagined. It's as if he could come and go with the wind as he pleased, and take a life before anyone would ever be aware of his presence. A brilliant first appearance for a crucially important character.

As mentioned before, the Goblet of Fire takes a definite turn towards the sinister compared to the previous installments. What this film does incredibly well, is give the movie the tension and build up that is needed to really make the climax of the story have the proper impact. Of course, that is majorly thanks to the excellent writing of it's source material, but it is also due to the lighting, music, and direction of the film. The color scheme almost has hints of sepia tints in it, taking much of the cheer and light away from the screen. It is clear in the score that the tone of the film is meant to be ominous, and it, along with the visuals, creates a well made combination that matches the mood and atmosphere that was intended by the book.

Even with the unneeded added scenes to the film, the Goblet of Fire still continues to be one of my more enjoyed installments into the Harry Potter franchise. It may not be 100% in part to the movie itself, and have more to do with the plot, but even so, it is a pretty wonderful combination of story and cinema.