Magic, monsters, and young love. One of the best in the series.

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2009)

My Take: The Harry Potter series is growing up with its audience. This is a visually-stunning, but above all a witty and mature adventure.
In his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, our young Mr. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is faced with the new challenge: He is "accidentally" included in the dangerous and competitive Tri-Wizard Tournament, a dangerous competition in which students from other schools will challenge each other in order to win the legendary Tri-Wizard cup and eternal glory. Harry, who is too young to be appointed in the competition, is thrown into perilous situations, whether it's retrieving a golden egg from a dragon's lair or saving his friends from the clutches of mere-people. But the danger is far more dangerous than the competition itself. Who put Harry's name in the fabled Goblet of Fire? Is Lord Voldemort at the brink of resurrection now that his loyal servant, the double-crossing Petegrew (Timothy Spall) is exposed and awakening Voldemort's minions? Is Harry getting his first kiss in this movie?
By the time the series hit its fourth chapter, the series has moved from director to director to director. First was director Chris Colombus who has given us a sometimes dark, yet mostly heartwarming fantasy adventures. Then it's passed on to director Alfonso Cauron, a brilliant visionary, who crafts a deeper and more interesting adventure than Colombus' already wondrous dimensions. Now, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, is appointed to the loving hands of Brit director Mike Newell, who has great British films as FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and ENCHANTED APRIL to his credit. Since the POTTER films are usually associated with British actors, the director and material fit. On the unfortunate side however, Newell didn't top neither Cauron's AZKABAN nor Colombus' CHAMBER (Both my favorite movies in the series). But there's one thing in Newell's take that they lacked, and that's the show of maturity in its characters. AZKABAN only hinted that our characters are growing up, but GOBLET confirms it. The effects and action sequences are good and all, but perhaps my favorite scene in GOBLET is the Yule Ball sequence where we not only see are characters all grown up, but set aside magical goings-on for a little young love. After all, since the kids are growing up (and the audience is growing up with them), the series needs to catch up.
The action still sustains the audience, whether it's being chased by a dragon, battling with gruesome mere-people or passing through a perilous hedge maze, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE is wild roller-coaster ride populated by clever special effects and fast pacing, but moving not too fast enough to disregard some of the tender moments.
Rating: ***** out of 5.