Like a fine wine, the series is aging gracefully.

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 2005)

Oh, God, where do I begin? Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth installment from the J.K. Rowling series and this one is the payoff. Not only does each of the series keep getting better by installments, but they also get darker as well. As I mention in my review of Prisoner of Azkaban, the first two installments were ways of getting gawky eyed teenage girls to the big screen; with Azkaban, it was a movie where EVERYBODY, fans and non fans, to see this flick. With Goblet of Fire, the results are more promising than ever.
Daniel Radcliffe returns to his role as Harry Potter, a little older this time, and having nightmares about Lord Voldermort A.K.A. "You Know Who", as the scar on his forehead is getting worse as he can see what his happening around Voldermort and his cronies.
Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are also back as Harry's friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, in which time the three characters are hitting the stages of puberty where the guys don't have a clue on how to pick up girls, while a student from another school asks Hermione to the ball on Christmas Eve. Not only does puberty hit them, but also at the same time the relationships start to hit a conflict where Harry can't count on neither one anymore.
The premise of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is that every year there is a tournament called "The Tri-Wizard Tournament" where a student from Hogwarts and two other students from different schools (Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute) compete for the Tri-Wizard Cup, which will lead the winner eternal glory. The contestants have to be over seventeen to compete in the tournament, which involves retrieving a golden egg from a dragon, saving a loved one from the black lake, and the last part of the competition is going to an endless maze where somebody gets the Tri-Wizard Cup. The way the student is chosen is if somebody writes the name of the contestant on a piece of paper and sends it to the Goblet of Fire where the names will be drawn. Three have already been chosen, even a student from Hogwarts; but now a fourth contestant is revealedHarry Potter. Part of the clause on the contract reveals that no matter what, if the name is drawn, the player must go through all the levels, even if they die.
As far from directing, Mike Newell of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Mona Lisa Smile" is the first British director in the movie series where as a Britain, he understands everything about a boarding school, even a scene where Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman) starts to hit Harry and Ron upside the head for not doing their work. Yet, so funny and realistic that he does an outstanding job making this film.
Goblet of Fire also draws strong supporting roles; there's Michael Gambon reprising his role as Dumbledor; Maggie Smith as McGonagall (more of an extended role than Azkaban), Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, Miranda Richardson as the slimy Rita Skeeter and Brendan Gleason as "Mad-Eyed" Moody, who is the fourth teacher in the dark arts after the three other teachers left (Prof. Quarrel was Voldermort's apprentice in the 1st movie; the fop Gilderoy Lockhart in the second movie; and the eccentric Prof. Lupin in the 3rd installment).
Harry does meet his match with Lord Voldermort (Ralph Finnees) before the end of the movie which is quite a surprise, because after the first three films, the first two were apprentices in the body of Voldermort; in the third film, it was revealed that another apprentice "Worm-Tail" Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) was responsible for the death of James and Lily Potter; and now the monster is met, incomplete, with the face of the mechanical droid from the movie "I, Robot" where Voldermort's eyes are small, his nose small and his body very alive.
This is the first Harry Potter movie to be Rated PG-13, because of dark elements and scary violence. It does a job of staying true to what it means. Not to mention coming along with a storyline that people can follow. Overall, this is one hell of a movie, and as Hermione says to Ron and Harry, "Everything is going to change."
Indeed, for the better.
Acting: A+ Plot:A+ Directing:A+
This is a must see for every wizard and muggle.