Parents STRONGLY Cautioned

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2005)

First and foremost, this is NOT a kids' movie. This is a story about a boy who is the target of a very ruthless, very violent, and very frightening killer. As Harry grows older, his problems grow more mature-themed, and Goblet of Fire is the major pivoting point. To parents who think they can just send their kids off to the theater for a cute little Harry Potter movie, be warned that you'll probably want to see it yourselves first before making that decision. This movie is scary. There are scenes of torture, mutilation, death, implied gore, and a bit of sexual innuendo ("What's got your wand in a knot?"). This movies is rated PG-13, and is about one slip of a mermaid's hair from being rated R. When I saw it in the theater, the outside doors opened at least three separate times so a parent could remove their child from the movie's influence.
And you should be able to tell by the opening scene. The first shot is of a pile of skulls in the dark with a rather large snake slithering through them. The dark palette is carried through the entire movie, with the most color existing in a magical fireworks show near the beginning and in Ron's new robes. Except for these ten to fifteen minutes of footage, the entire movie is extremely drab, and for the most part dark.
However, for those of you that have read and enjoy the books, you will not be disappointed. Many sections of the book were cut, as had to be done for the movie to work. But Newell knew what he was doing; the important parts (that is, the parts I remember from when I read the book years ago) are still there. Also included are many direct quotes from the book, a rarity in novel-to-screen conversions. No important events were cut, added, or altered, and virtually every character is played well.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are definitely figuring out how to act, and give a performance that is a huge improvement from the first movie. With all due respect to Richard Harris, Michael Gambon should have been the first choice for Dumbledore. Brendan Gleeson plays an extremely convincing Moody, and Miranda Richardson perfectly portrays Rita Skeeter's self-obsessed annoyingness.
Overall this movie is excellent. I give it a 10 out of 10 because there is absolutely nothing feasible that I can think of to improve it. Just beware that this is NOT a movie that you'd want to use as a babysitter. Remember that it's PG-13 for a reason.