It's been said, but this is the best Potter film yet.

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2006)

*There are some clearly marked spoilers near the end of this, in case anyone cares*
First off, I should say that I'm only a borderline Potter fan. I still haven't got around to reading the sixth book, but I've read the rest. On top of that, what kind of Potter fan waits until this has been out on DVD for a month to see it? Exactly. I enjoyed the 3rd one, but it didn't exactly leave me excited to watch this. I was actually quite surprised; not only was it better than #3, Id even go so far as to call it the best of the lot! Mike Newell continued the dark atmosphere that Alfonso CuarÃ³n introduced in the third movie, which was a rather nice touch. I've said it before and Ill say it again however, Daniel Radcliffe isn't a great actor. He's not terrible or anything, but he is dwarfed in comparison to his very talented co-stars. Emma Watson in particular, Id really like to see her in something other than the Potter saga. Surprisingly talented young actress. There was a great chemistry between the actors, especially the three leads. The supporting cast was good as well, though the best were very underused. Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman deserved to be in this much longer than they were. Both are great actors who play great characters in the saga, and they were each on screen for a total of about 5 minutes. Ralph Finnes was great as Voldemort, very creepy and well done. The effects were great every step of the way. To sum up this rambling review, I throughly enjoyed it.
*Spoilers*
The one big problem that I had with it was the lack of character development on Cedric. In the book, his death was a very upsetting and powerful event, though in the film he wasn't a character that they made you care about. He was just sort of...there. That didn't ruin the film, but it definitely detracted some points...
*End Spoiler*
8/10