Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

If Prisoner of Azkaban was the beginning of Harry Potter getting more dark and mature, then this film is where it leans into it completely. Everything changed with this one, and the events of this story, more than any other, especially the final portions, inform how the final four films will play out.

The story follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who return to Hogwarts for their fourth year of school, and from the beginning, with Harry having a dream of Voldemort killing an old man in cold blood while plotting with his followers to do the same to Harry, you know things are about to get real. And get real they do, because he, without his knowledge, is entered into the Triwizard Tournament, a wizarding competition between Hogwarts and two other wizarding schools where the champions involved have to compete in three deadly tasks.

This film is definitely not only showing the darkness of the world around Harry, but also the beginning of, as any coming of age story has, our leads starting to look for love and having the usual teenage angst, which is awkward to watch, but that was kind of the point. The sequences where we get to watch Harry compete in the tasks are pretty exciting and action packed, and were probably the best action scenes in the franchise up to this point, including a battle against a dragon, an underwater scene, and a mad dash through a giant deadly hedge maze.

There is some awkward line delivery in the film, especially the last line, delivered by Daniel Radcliffe, that is completely the most unrealistic reaction to a question I have ever seen. Outside of it, though, the rest of the performances are great, especially from Brendan Gleeson as Alastor Moody, basically a grizzled wizard police officer and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year, and, although he has only a few scenes, Robert Pattinson as Harry's fellow student Cedric Diggory, mostly because Robert Pattinson is a favorite actor of mine.

Overall, this is again a great film, although it has some slow scenes that kind of drag the story to a halt, and at the same time, it can move through other things too quickly. It's still a necessary part of the Harry Potter story, but I can't deny that it is uneven all the same.

Next time, four kids find a magical cupboard to a hidden land. If you don't know what movie this is, I will be shocked. Regardless, keep an eye open for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

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