Goblet of Fire Media Reviews

CanMag - Movies
Rating: 4.5/5

During the opening fifteen minutes of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , an opening that features a death to a character and an assault by Death Eaters, I could only think that Mike Newell has come out swinging. With very little experience with the term ‘CGI', Mike Newell has helped create yet another impressive episode to the Harry Potter film franchise by releasing what looks to be the best Potter film to date.


However, before I continue with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , it is necessary to take a look back at the original two Potter films created by Chris Columbus. First off, after reading multiple early reviews for Goblet of Fire I came to realize that Columbus is currently getting a lot of flack. How has the old Potter director become the target of insults after the release of not one but two amazingly dark sequels from separate directors?

It is always easier to paraphrase, rather than create the original content. Columbus offered us a world of Potter during its initial creation. So what if he took a somewhat Joel Schumacher-to-Batman approach to the Potter universe. He is the creator of the Potter world that we have grown to love, a world that has only been approved upon, not recreated, in recent sequels.

The small children we watched in the Columbus films are now growing up and finding that hormones may be a bigger challenge than any dragon or magical spell. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Ron points out that though Harry can defeat a pissed off Hungarian Horntail, he still finds himself alone and single when it is time to ask a girl to the upcoming Yule Ball Dance.

When it comes to the ‘children' and the rest of the cast, some one should give the casting director for the Potter films a raise. The children, teachers, guests and even extras fit the parts they occupy and the camera, with Mike Newell now at the helm, continues to play on this. Dan Radcliffe has become our real life Harry Potter. Emma Watson has aged and changed perfectly in tune with the books; she is Hermione Granger. The Weasley twins, Fred [James Phelps] and George [Oliver Phelps], finally have a chance to get the spotlight, something they have ever so deserved since Prisoner of Azkaban. Not only are these two pranksters comic relief in the novels, but they are more popular than the previous films conveyed.

However, the character that deserves most the credit in this latest installment is Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint. Grint is freakin' Ron Weasley! Everything about Grint, the tone in his voice, his unsure actions, and his opinions of girls, Hermione especially, is like watching a Ron cloned directly out of the books. I know those who look to pursue a further career in acting hate to be typecast, but Grint has the role of Ron Weasley so figured out that it will hard to ever see him as another character. Now all we need is a slightly bigger appearance from Ginny, and the older brothers, in the next film and the entire Weasley family will be set straight.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Since so much emphasis is spent on the Triwizard Tournament, don't expect to see a lot of the Slytherins, including Draco Malfoy. No matter, there is so much going on in Goblet of Fire that you won't notice that they were missed until walking out of the theatre. The only character that I felt needs a little bit more love was Professor Snape. Being the fourth film, Alan Rickman also has his character so figured that you can only be amused by his comfort in the role. I am hoping that we should see a lot of Snape in the upcoming two films.

I could talk about the cast to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire forever considering all the new additions to this film, so I will quickly conclude by stating that all the new characters played their parts extremely well, with no Potter fan feeling disappointed.

So how is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ? Simple incredible. From the first second the film begins till the final few minutes you feel like you are on a rough and wild adventure at sea. Normally I would say a roller coaster ride, but some of the scenes in Goblet of Fire are so intense [the dragon!] that the pacing must jump considerably from action to story and back to action again; as if you hit a large wake in your path. The abrupt changes of pacing may throw some moviegoers not familiar with the books off. But don't worry, the pacing is pretty right on with the story; well, maybe the story on steroids.

Luckily, this minor ‘flaw' [if you'd call it that] is easily covered up with a photo-realistic dragon, an underwater adventure, and a surprisingly emotional scene by the end of the film. Though some may find the ending a bit anti-climatic, this is how the story of Harry Potter goes and the movie serves as a perfect introduction of what to expect from later films.

Remember, things are going to change. And, if things continue as they have, I cannot wait to see what Steve Kloves and friends have in store for us next. For now, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has earned itself a second viewing.

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