The Goblet of Fire burns bright

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2005)

There was an old Mel Brooks film that I remember called The History of the World: Part I. The tag line suggested that "from the dawn of man to the distant future, mankind's evolution (or lack thereof) is traced." Of course, mankind's history cannot be touched in 92 minutes, and do not expect J.K. Rowling's work, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to be given just weight in 2 hours and 37 minutes - it cannot be done. Forget the book and just sit back and enjoy what Mike Newell has prepared for your enjoyment.
My anticipation was palpable: a Mike Newell film from a J.K. Rowling book. There is no film on the planet that is funnier or more touching than Four Weddings and a Funeral. Newell directed his greatest achievement there. With Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he has taken a great leap forward and given us a movie that is enjoyable to lovers of the books and anyone else who just wants to see a great movie.
I totally agree with reviewer Desson Thomson who states: Director Mike Newell and screenwriter Steve Kloves (who has written all the Potter films) know their primary responsibility: to create three-ring spectacles like the whiz-bang, airborne game of Quidditch, or Harry's mighty tussles with otherworldly creatures. But they also allow time for the characters to breathe. (WP) This film was the best of the bunch, I would not be surprised in the least to see this film exceed $100 million in it's first weekend. I was at the first showing at my local theater yesterday and it was full. I do not know what all those kids were doing out of school on Friday!
If nothing else, you have to see Brendan Gleeson as the latest addition to the Hogwarts staff, Mad-Eye Moody. As Manohla Dargis of the Times describes him: a man of garrulous temperament and removable parts, including a googly eye that he wears like a pirate's patch, Mad-Eye is a pip.
A pip he was and the film was stupendous.