The Best Potter To Date

Rating: 7/10 (22 November 2005)

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE is the fourth film in the franchise, and the better of the four. I believe it's better on almost every level, except perhaps if you think the stories needed to stay light. GOBLET OF FIRE is the one that finally gets serious.
Mentioning the serious tone, I must comment upfront that there is good reason for a PG-13 rating. Younger viewers could have some trouble (nightmares?) with some of the villains and creatures we meet here. The subject matter does grow quite dark at times, and there are moments bordering on horror. I rarely agree with the MPAA on their ratings, but this time I think it's justified; you've been warned.
The darker, more serious nature of the film makes perfect sense, however. Potter and his school mates are older, and the tone of the film rings with it. More serious issues are brought to the surface, and some more adult themes, as Harry approaches adulthood. More than that, the film is the first to take itself more seriously, and I think it's just the change the series needed.
The Harry Potter series overall is really not so original. It borrows from so many fantasy stories and films that I can hardly count the references any longer. It's been one of the more annoying points about the franchise overall (and why I have trouble giving higher marks to this or any of the films). There are some tangents the story takes that linger a bit long, but I've felt that was true for all the POTTER films. It's the old problem of what to leave in from the book, and what to cut. I certainly would have shorted scenes to bring down that 2 1/2 hour run time. But with GOBLET OF FIRE, we do begin to move past most of the clichés and dive deeper into the characters and some of the more creative story arc ideas, and that's certainly progress.
That is not to say that the humor and fun is gone. While the laughs are tempered to fit the story, they are frequent enough without seeming forced. The acting by the young stars is better, showing that they've grown into their roles. The older actors are great as always, and new to the series is the wonderful Brendan Gleeson, and another fine actor - who I won't mention for fear of giving away a plot point.
The special effects are I think standard for movies of this type - I saw nothing that really wowed me, but then again everything was strongly designed and rendered, with few if any seams showing. The music is new as well: John Williams' themes are still present, but the baton has been passed on to highly capable Patrick Doyle. He sheds new light on old motifs and generally breaths life into the musical storytelling once again. It seemed as if Williams was bored by the last film, and it's nice to hear something new even as director Mike Newell took us in a different, darker, more grown-up direction. He even found a way out of the standard Harry Potter opening scenes - I'm sure you know what I mean.
For GOBLET OF FIRE to be the 4th in the series - where sequels usually sag and creak and we run out of the theater wondering what possessed us to go in the first place - it is a milestone from that perspective. I can think of few fourth outings worthy of anything but direct-to-video or late, late night TV. Moreover, it made me actually look forward to - instead of dread - the next in the series.