THE LINE: Difficult times lie ahead for Harry Potter.
Beset by nightmares that leave his scar hurting more than usual, Harry (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) is all too happy to escape his disturbing dreams by attending the Quidditch World Cup with his friends Ron (RUPERT GRINT) and Hermione (EMMA WATSON).
But something sinister ignites the skies at the Quidditch campsite – the Dark Mark, the sign of the evil Lord Voldemort. It’s conjured by his followers, the Death Eaters, who haven’t dared to appear in public since Voldemort (RALPH FIENNES) was last seen thirteen years ago – the night he murdered Harry’s parents.
Harry longs to get back inside the safe walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Professor Dumbledore (MICHAEL GAMBON) can protect him. But things are going to be a little different this year.
Dumbledore announces that Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament, one of the most exciting and dangerous of the wizarding community’s magical competitions. One champion will be selected from each of the three largest and most prestigious wizarding schools to compete in a series of life-threatening tasks in pursuit of winning the coveted Triwizard Cup.
The Hogwarts students watch in awe as the elegant girls of the Beauxbatons Academy and the dark and brooding boys of Durmstrang Institute fill the Great Hall, breathlessly awaiting the selection of their champions.
Ministry of Magic official Barty Crouch (ROGER LLOYD PACK) and Professor Dumbledore preside over a candlelit ceremony fraught with anticipation as the enchanted Goblet of Fire selects one student from each school to compete. Amidst a hail of sparks and flames, the cup names Durmstrang’s Quidditch superstar Victor Krum (STANISLAV IANEVSKI), followed by Beauxbatons’ exquisite Fleur Delacour (CLÉMENCE POÉSY) and finally, Hogwarts’ popular all-around golden boy Cedric Diggory (ROBERT PATTINSON). But then, inexplicably, the Goblet spits out one final name: Harry Potter.
At just 14 years old, Harry is three years too young to enter the grueling competition. He insists that he didn’t put his name in the Goblet and that he really doesn’t want to compete. But the Goblet’s decision is binding, and compete he must.
Suspicion and jealousy abound as muckraking journalist Rita Skeeter (MIRANDA RICHARDSON) fans the flames of the Harry Potter backlash with her outrageous gossip columns. Even Ron begins to believe his “fame seeking” friend somehow tricked the cup into selecting him.
Suspecting that whoever did enter Harry’s name in the Tournament deliberately wants to put him in grave danger, Dumbledore asks Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody (BRENDAN GLEESON), the eccentric new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, to keep his highly perceptive and magical eye trained on the teenage wizard.
Harry prepares for the challenging Triwizard tasks – evading a fire-breathing dragon, diving into the depths of a great lake and navigating a maze with a life of its own. But nothing is more daunting than the most terrifying challenge of them all – finding a date for the Yule Ball.
For Harry, dealing with dragons, merpeople and grindylows is a walk in the park compared to asking the lovely Cho Chang (KATIE LEUNG) to the Yule Ball. And if Ron weren’t so distracted, perhaps he would acknowledge a change in his feelings for Hermione.
Events take an ominous turn when someone is murdered on Hogwarts grounds. Scared and still haunted by dreams of Voldemort, Harry turns to Dumbledore. But even the venerable Headmaster admits that there are no longer any easy answers.
As Harry and the other champions battle through their last task and the advancing tendrils of the ominous maze, someone or something is keeping a watchful eye. Victory is in sight, but as they edge closer to the Triwizard Cup, all is not as it seems – and Harry soon finds himself hurtling head-first toward an inevitable encounter with true evil…
THE REVIEW: Screenwriter Steve Kloves had to tame the 734 page book and cut it into a reasonable time. Kloves managed to put together a film that runs 157 minutes—the second longest Potter and the most thrilling. Even at that length the film runs like a thoroughbred even though all that chopping left some interesting elements behind—none of which hurt the film.
The film moves swiftly thanks to director Mike Newell. Newell has crafted a film that never has a chance to find a lull. Newell might get the satisfaction of knowing he has created the best Potter film to date.
The cast has grown older and as actors. Daniel Radcliffe proves that he is more than a one trick pony. Emma Watson is a standout. Watson certainly has a career post-Potter. Of course we are also given some very well versed character actors such as Ralph Fiennes who is quite fearsome and could frighten children and adults alike.
THE EXTRAS:
“Additional Scenes” – This featurette has a handful of deleted scenes—many are entire scenes that were extracted. What is interesting is how these scenes could have been included as an extended version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as was the case with The Lord of the Rings.
Conversations with the cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint
“Preparing for the Yule Ball” – A very nice featurette that revolves around the actors getting dance lessons and what it took to create the set for the ball.
“Reflections on the Fourth Film” – The cast and filmmakers reflect on this and the previous films.
Triwizard Tournament: “Dragon Arena: Dragon Challenge, Harry vs. the Horntail:The First Task, Meet the Champions,” “Lake Challenge, In Too Deep: The Second Task,” and “Maze Challenge, To the Graveyard and Back Challenge, The Maze: The Third Task, He Who Must Not Be Named These three” – featurettes look at the different adventures.
Also included is the theatrical trailer, EA Game Demo, Hogwarts Timeline, Web Interactivity.
FRANKLY: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is fun for kids and adults. Each Potter film builds on the last as if each director is in competition with their predecessor. There is never a dull moment. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best Potter yet.
+ Charlie Craine
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