Although there were a few negative points in the film, overall it was a great film, and yes, the best out of the four. The acting and directing were done magnificently and the cuts were made perfectly to get the main point through. The film was more based to bring out the personalities of each of the characters. Mike Newell did the best he could to transform a 700+ pg book into a 2 1/2 hour movie.

 

The beginning of the film is very rushed and moves very quickly. Only 20 minutes into the movie and you are already at Hogwarts, whereas in the book it takes almost 200 pages. The dark mark at the Quidditch World Cup looked very real and very frightening. Harry catches a glimpse of Barty Crouch Jr after he conjures the dark mark, but is unable to identify him. After this scene, Harry, Hermione, and Ron are on the Hogwarts Express.

 

Upon arriving to school, Dumbledore announces the big event of the year, the Triwizard Tournament. The other two schools arrive, and we see the Hogwarts boys become completely mesmerized by the Beaubaxton girls. Mad-Eye Moody walks in late and you see him drinking something. For those who have read the book, this is almost an obvious clue, but those who haven't will not take much notice of it.

 

Students enter their name into the goblet and there is a hilarious scene with Fred and George and their attempt to fool the age line. We see Krum coming to enter his name into the Goblet and stealing a glance at Hermione. 

 

The school gathers as Dumbledore prepares to announce the 3 champions. When Harry's name pops out of the Goblet, Dumbledore does not immediately shout "HARRY POTTER!" He starts soft and gradually gets louder because he can't find him. Harry is told he must compete and we cut to the next scene.

 

Harry and Ron's fight is done very well by the two actors and Ron's jealousy is more evident through these parts. Harry meeting with Sirius in the fire, is very different from the way most probably imagined it, however, the CGI was very well done.

 

The three tasks were magnificent. Each had their own brilliance and the CGI was definitely not overdone. I was personally afraid that the dragon would look too computerized. However, this is not the case. It does look real, and the movements were perfectly captured by the graphic designers. In the underwater scene, Harry transformation (getting his gills, and webbed hands and feet) looks very painful, and the Mermaids do not look friendly. We don't see much of the other character's in this scene, but just small glimpses. At the end of the scene, Harry jumps out of the water with an excellent touch (ascendio spell). The "unexpected task" was just as amazing. The great hall's transformation is magnificent and it is wonderful to see everyone dressed up and nervous about it. When Harry and his date (I can't remember the name!) are dancing, you can tell that both have no idea what they are doing. Hermione is thourougly enjoying herself with Viktor, when Ron comes along and ruins everything for her. It is very obvious that Ron is developing feelings for Hermione and vice versa. The maze was breathtaking. Although there were no creatures, such as the sphinx, it was scary nonetheless. From an arial view we see that the maze changes which makes it even more frightening. Harry and Cedric reach the triwizard cup with takes them to the graveyard scene.

 

The graveyard scene was, in my opinion, the best scene in the all the movies so far. Voldemort's rebirth was excellent, and the image of his face was almost exactly how I imagined him. You can see that Dan Radcliffe's acting got immensely better in this scene. His interpretation of the Imperius and the Cruciatus curse is amazing. It looks real and it is painful to watch. The death eaters apparate to the graveyard, and Voldemort re-accounts what happened on the night of his "collapse". The Priori Incantatem is amazing, although the images of Cedric, his parents, etc, were not as clear as, I believe, most of us would have liked. Harry escapes with pure luck and we see Voldemort scream, "NO!!".

 

The saddest part of the movie comes when Harry returns back to Hogwarts, and everyone is cheering and clapping because they believe that he has won. Harry is crying and clutching Cedric's dead body. His crying was much better than the shameful crying scene in the third film. He doesn't want to let go, but Mad-Eye Moody drags him away.

 

It cuts to the scene, where Mad-Eye begins to transform back into the Barty Crouch Jr. In my opinion they did not do the best of explaining this. The Veritaserum is only used to ask if he is the real Moody or not. It is unclear that Barty Crouch Jr. will be kissed by the dementors, and people who have not read the books might speculate that he will return in future movies. In another scene, Dumbledore does not do a clear job of explaining Priori Incantatem. He only mentions it and says that is what happened when Harry and Voldemort's connected.

 

The film closes with the departure of the two schools. Many things were cut such as Hermione's S.P.E.W., revealing Rita Skeeter's secret, Winky, and Dobby, the match of the Quidditch World Cup, and other small things, but the main plot is still there. The trio's acting is much better, as with the other stars. (However, if you watch Hermione, her eyebrows are constantly moving up and down throughout the film. Maybe I'm just imagining it). The is so much more humor in this film, such as the Malfoy-ferret scene, Rita Skeeter and Harry in the broom cupboard, the end of Harry and Ron's fight, Harry and Cho scenes, and much more. The transitions were not the best, but they were still there. Overall, the movie was amazing.

 

I would rate this movie 9 out of 10 stars, and recommend it to everyone.