Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Blu-ray movie review

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is, by now, the best Harry Potter movie in the series. It isn't much of a surprise, since the movies achieve a higher level of excellence as they pass by. The first one was good, the second was great, and the third one was thrilling. The fourth installment in the franchise improves some disappointing factors that affected the third movie (confusing ending; shallow performances), and is a winner from the start.

The movie starts off with Harry being shaken awake by Hermione in The Burrow. This itself gives us a glimpse into Mike Newell's thought process. Mike Newell and writer Steve Kloves seem to be Harry/Hermione advocators to a small extent. It's not so much as the fact that they show Harry and Hermione to be better friends than Ron and Hermione, which isn't really true to the books, it more the fact that they've made Hermione tag along or take care of Harry in several scenes.

The adult actors are sparingly but well used. Alan Rickman only has two main scenes (He probably did about one day of filming) but it's just enough. Maggie Smith is equally funny and Micheal Gambon is used more than in the previous film. He thankfully has one fatherly scene in this film, which was lacking in PoA. Brendan Gleeson is hilariously over-the-top as "Mad-Eye", a vicious old dark wizard catcher assigned to be the new Dark Arts teacher.

The humor has grown more adult, which fits the growing audience better. Sexuality and Excellent Writing replace most of the repetition gags and silly physical humor of Columbus and Cuaron. This fits J.K. Rowling's style much better actually. It's all very funny and very British, as it should be. As for the teen problems? Getting a date for the dance, and learning to dance. Dealing with rejection and hormones. We've all been there. It's all very real and well done. These kids feel like real people, not mythical elves or gods.

Most impressive of all is Ralph Fiennes who is genuinely terrifying as the evil Lord Voldemort. Fiennes is ably assisted in his wickedness by a suitably conniving Timothy Spall and also the most fearsome set of nostrils to grace the silver screen since Hannibal Lector flexed his snout at Agent Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.

It is pretty stirring stuff – visually extraordinary in places – and nicely paced. Potterfiles will love it and detractors may just find their criticisms stuck in their throats. However, my disdain for adults who proudly devour the novels on public transport without any sense of shame remains absolute.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

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