It isn't enough to say that these films get darker, uglier, meaner, nastier and better as the franchise hurtles along. The world of Harry Potter is beloved, and an accumulation of talented directors, writers and actors have us so invested in J.K. Rowling's creation that the release of another Harry Potter movie has become a glorious novelty in our world'almost as glorious as the books themselves.
Easily the scariest of the four, 'Goblet of Fire' carries a PG-13 rating and takes a violent turn from its predecessors by revealing to us the true evil that lies beneath the surface of Harry Potter's world: Lord Voldemort. In a passionate and venomous performance by Ralph Fiennes, Lord Voldemort spreads a pervading sense of doom over the magical world created by the first two movies. While the third movie channels darker tensions and dilapidated scenery, what it lacks in comparison to the fourth is the thread of humanity. With its young actors finally growing into their roles and a group of ripe, old talent for them to learn from, 'Goblet of Fire' possesses the most human of moments among the Potter films: a grieving father, the fall of the innocent and tender moments of love and rejection.
The characters are finally as believable as Rowling's novels have written them to be. Even though 'Goblet of Fire' may be the most outlandish of the four as far as plot adaptations go, it works, because nobody can expect a 157-minute movie covering a 734-page novel to capture everything intended. This is the reason that the addage still holds true: The book is always better than the movie.
Devilish events at the Quidditch World Cup end without resolve, but Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), along with his two best friends Ron and Hermione, return to Hogwarts for a fourth and exciting year. This year, Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard Tournament. The Triwizard Tournament is a battle of daring, cunning and strength among representative wizards from the three schools involved: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The three champions are chosen by the mysterious Goblet of Fire, but it is when the goblet spits out a fourth and very unexpected name, Harry Potter, that the true questions of this story are asked.
The tasks of the tournament range from terrifying dragon encounters to mer-people and a maze that might give Stanley Kubrick a run for his money. More important to the film than the tasks, however, are the relationships developed between young witches and wizards as the tournament soldiers on. The sexual tension is thick when Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) shows up to the Yule Ball looking gorgeous with Quidditch pro Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski). The angsty side of Harry Potter is even more humorous as directed by the first British director to ever take on a Potter film, Mike Newell ('Four Weddings and a Funeral'). While hilarious and brimming with innuendoes, this softer element is much needed to balance the film's terrifying beginning and catastrophic end.
Audiences will fully appreciate 'Goblet of Fire.' Although it may be better understood by devotees of Rowling's book series, the movie-lovers alone will find it equally enjoyable. It is easy to say that while the third movie is the most innovative visually, the fourth is better simply because it focuses on its characters rather than their environment. Audiences should prepare themselves for the darkest trip to Hogwarts yet, and for the chilling end that launches great changes and the excitement that is to come in the final three Potter films.
