Pretty Good...

Rating: 7/10 (11 September 2008)

Despite the numerous flaws this series is becoming accustomed to, The Goblet of Fire is somewhat good. The acting isn't all there, though Brendan Gleeson pretty much steals the show, as well as Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. However, Michael Gambon was only half of what he was in The Prisoner of Azkaban, and his return is a little stale -- a fault also can be credited to Steve Kloves who made Dumbledore seem unlike the previous personalities from the first three films. Radcliffe and Grint are slightly weaker than the previous films as well, though Emma Watson has got to be the best of the teenage stars, as she convincingly portrays Hermione Granger unlike her earlier ones.
The special effects are vastly superior to The Order of the Phoenix and the previous three. The Hungarian Horntail is surprisingly great looking, though similarities can be seen between this beast and Buckbeak, as well as Voldemort's transformation. Other elements like the Merpeople and the flying horses were a tad phony -- a few touch-ups would've made room for more believability.
The script is pretty faithful. The subplot with the house-elves is left out, which basically obliterates any character development between Hermione and Ron. The gradual relationship between Harry and Ginny is absent as well, and there were a few scenes where they could've had an intimate moment or two -- especially with the Yule Ball, though it would've strayed from the source material, the writer(s) don't seem to care too much. The scene in the graveyard with Voldemort's recreation is almost exactly how I imagined it and was very well done; Harry's mother and father gave some stale performances when they reappeared briefly.
The music is not nearly as complex as Williams' previous scores, and Patrick Doyle is quite the unrealistic replacement for such an orchestral genius.
All in all, The Goblet of Fire is only as faithful to the source material as the series is as a whole, to which it fails in. The magic and vision is completely different, and more akin to the way I would've imagined the Potter universe, unlike Cuaron and Columbus'. I'd recommend a family to watch this, no matter how disappointed a fan (like myself) may be at the lack of continuity (especially for what lies ahead in the series) or charm amongst the characters. Equally disappointing as the rest, only slightly better thanks to a better vision.