Goblet of Fire

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2005)

The gang at Hogwarts is back for their fourth year in the holiday blockbuster "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." They were not kidding when they told us "Dark days lay ahead," for our hero Harry Potter. This fourth installment in the series is the darkest to date and is jammed with action from beginning to end. The entire cast makes their return with a few new faces. The new Defense against the Dark Arts is Mad Eye Moody, played by Brendon Gleeson and Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter, gossip reporter for the Daily Prophet.
Goblet of Fire centers on the prestigious Tri-Wizard Tournament that brings two rival schools to Hogwarts to compete. One "lucky" student is selected from each school when his or her name is spit out of the goblet of fire. They then must compete in a series of three challenges that risk their life battling Dragons and sea creatures. Newcomers Fleur Delacour (Clemence Posey), Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski) and from Hogwarts Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson). But nothing is normal at Hogwarts, as we learned in the first three films, during the celebration the goblet spits out a fourth name you guessed it Harry Potter! The movie winds its way through marvelous special effects and edge-of-your-seat excitement to the climax that every Potter fan has been waiting for the evil Lord Voldemort! Voldemort played by Ralph Fiennes (the Constant Gardener, Red Dragon) is finally brought back to life by a group of his loyal followers called Death Eaters. Harry is forced in to a face to face confrontation with the evil wizard who murdered his parents.
Some more pleasant surprises feature return appearances by characters from the previous films like Sirius Black and lovely Moaning Myrtle from the "Chamber of Secrets." As you exit this installment in to Harry's education in the dark arts, think about what Hermione (Watson) says "Everything is going to change now." I, for one, can't wait! Bring on Order of the Phoenix!