Disappointing.

Rating: 6/10 (18 November 2005)

How unfortunate that ye-ol-movie-factory could not wait for Alfonso Cuarón to complete Azkaban so that he could direct this film. Rather they gave it over to Sappy-Four-Weddings-and-a-Funeral Mike Newell.
Although Cuarón changed some of the story from Azkaban overall he made a film not only true to the tone and main plot of the book, but also a beautiful picture. He provided a level of artfulness to the Harry Potter films that had been missing and unfortunately it appears it has gone missing again.
Goblet of Fire seems to be more concerned with winking at the audience when each "cool" thing from the book is included rather than actually showing a true story or tone of the book. How unfortunate that this film, even at 2 hrs 30 min, feels rushed and appears to missed the point.
As a big Harry Potter fan this movie makes me feel more like re-reading the books than watching the films.
If you are a fan you will find yourself smiling and maybe even cheering in the movie theater but end up going home feeling disappointed and empty. If you have not yet read the book, go check it out from the library and read it cover to cover before you go to the theater because the cliff notes version Mike Newell released today is far from complete or satisfying.