Terrific Blend of Story, Effects and Showcase of Young and Old Actors

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2005)

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is a wonderful treat for the fans of the books and the earlier movies in the series, as it wastes no time explaining anything to newbies.
After the prologue, our first look at Harry reveals he's now a gangly young teen for even more visceral reaction than seeing Anakin Skywalker at the same gawky age in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" because here it's been the same actor who we have seen age on screen; I immediately vote for continuing with the trio of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley for the rest of the adaptations, as they are literally growing into their roles. (Though with them fitting in other movies in between these I do feel pangs of maternal guilt at their lost childhoods.) Twins James and Oliver Phelps as the Weasley twins have also developed more hunkily than the characters' in my imagination from the pages in the book.
All of their rangy messiness is particularly apt as director Mike Newell better captures the ambiance of normal English boarding school life than the other films, from the dorms to the common and dining rooms and professors' offices to the horrors of the first formal dance and the first awkward stirrings of attraction to the opposite sex, which adds a lot of leavening humor to the adventure. The attention to detail in the production design is marvelous; I counted three people in the credits responsible for draperies. Hogwarts is notably more multicultural this year, and not just because of the international Tri-Wizard Tournament; it challenges American stereotypes to hear "Cho Chang" speak with a Scottish brogue like the inimitable Maggie Smith does here too.
Eliminating the dreary annual summer stay at the relatives helps to literally whoosh us fast into magical environs as it quickly moves to the creatively envisioned quidditch world tournament that is necessarily rushed but is still a lot of fun before capturing the spookiness of the stealth attack by the followers of You Know Who -- and viewers have to already know who he and Sirius Black are, the family relationships, and what are Death Eaters, poly juice, sorting, etc. One small weakness is that quidditch fans dress in the same outlandish nonsense as muggle sports fans, but the visiting tournament teams' costumes and choreography are even more fun than the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.
Until that time in the future when a very long, faithfully done mini-series adaptation can be made, it's forgivable that in the rush to fit in as many climaxes as possible of the long, complicated story it is a bit hard to have story insights to make you care for the new characters, though they are played by charming youngsters, particularly handsome Robert Pattinson as Hogwarts' official tournament competitor, and the girl classmates who amusingly prove that female wizards mature earlier too. I appreciate the effort gone to cast a young Bulgarian as competitor "Vicktor Krum" with the right physique, but it's a good thing he's seen quite briefly.
I lost count at ten at the number of special effects companies in the U.S. and Britain involved in the production, but it did seem as if CGI was put to effective background service to quaintly old-fashioned models, animatronics and mattes that fit the Hogwarts environment. I was particularly impressed that no matter how cool an effect was, it wasn't repeated for preening purposes and always served the story, as did the music. The underwater scenes were wonderful. The landscape of Hogwarts, from the castle to the lake to the forest, have a real sense of geography. Those who did stay through all the credits were rewarded by being assured that no dragons were harmed in the production, as the dragon challenge was thrilling even as it fondly recalled Ray Harryhausen's mythic battles for a new generation. I was not as impressed with Liam Neeson's make-up for Vol de Mort, as he seemed too much like Marty Feldman's Igor in "Young Frankenstein."
But even with all these impressive effects, the films remain a showcase of the richness of British acting talent, of artists who go from TV to theater to serious indie cinema to small roles in this populist extravaganza. Brendan Gleeson seems more avuncular as this term's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher than was in the book, while having fun with his body props. I thought Miranda Richardson was not even as obnoxious or tartily made up on screen as Rita Skeeter is in the books. But I hope they all are signed up for the long term, as this fourth film clearly ends like a serial and I look forward to the next film as much as I look ahead to the next book.