Not too bad.

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2005)

This is my favorite of the four movies so far. The pace is brisk and keeps the action moving along nicely. Thank God the director realized that we don't need so much unnecessary exposition. Although that stuff might work in the book, for a movie, it just sets it up to be long and boring. It's already assumed that we know who Voldemort is, that they live in a magical place, that the students go to class. There is little time spent on whimsy and the wonders of the magical world. There isn't even a scene with the Dursleys. And that's perfectly fine. You shouldn't be watching this movie if you haven't seen the previous ones. Whatever exposition is given, is for anything we don't know about and the plot itself.
Another good point is the acting. All three of the leads are doing a great job. I'm glad that they stuck with Ratcliffe, Watson, and Grint. They really get the characters across nicely. Also, the new professors and students taking place in the Tri-Wizard tournament are perfectly cast (and from what I understand, the actors are from the same areas as the characters they portray). The new Dumbledore is adequate, though not as convincing to me as the original (of course, that can't be helped). And of course, you still get Hagrid, and, perfectly cast, Snape.
The plot is engaging and mysterious. However, I couldn't help but get the feeling that if I had not read the book beforehand, I might be a bit lost. Still, the mysterious portions are done very well, and I think would keep anybody guessing and surprised.
SPOILER WARNING: I only had two problems with the movie. First, the beginning rushes too much. The characters are supposed to go to the Quidditch World Cup, but there is no footage of it. Yeah, I know, we've seen loads of Quidditch games through the first three movies, but it would have been nice to see the big one, especially since it's the reason everybody went to the stadium in the first place. Unfortunately, it seems the Quidditch World Cup had to be sacrificed to get in more plot.
Second, there was not enough character development, especially for the other three witches and wizards in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I mean, Cedric barely interacts with Harry at all. You'd think that they would give some more characterization for somebody who is killed off. And Krum and Fleur aren't that much better.
END SPOILER WARNING All in all, I would say if you liked the first three movies, see this.