Franchise on Fire

Rating: 9/10 (23 November 2005)

Coming at the exact center of a seven-book series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" represents a turning point for both its hero and Rowling's writing in general. Harry's youthful innocence is replaced by the moody complexities of adolescence, even as his arch-nemesis Lord Voldemort transforms from a vague, shadowy threat to a very real evil presence in the wizarding world. The moral issues hinted at in "Prisoner of Azkaban" become even more prominent: good people die, heroes are flawed, and even the saintly Dumbledore proves to be only human. The film version of "Goblet of Fire" reflects this, and, like all movies that capture the essence of its source material, is a delight to behold.
Mind you, when I say "essence," I mean the underlying thematic material, not strict adherence to the written text. Weighing in at 700-plus pages, "Goblet of Fire" would be impossible to render completely faithfully on film, even if one were allotted double the two and a half hour running time of the finished product. Screenwriter Steven Kloves has his most difficult assignment to date, taking the story down to its essentials while still maintaining a sense of dramatic coherency. Several plot points and sidebars have been condensed, shifted, or left out entirely, which will no doubt irritate the more adamant purists. But if you're willing to give Kloves and director Mike Newell the benefit of the doubt, "Goblet of Fire" works wonders.
It works because, like last year's "Prisoner of Azkaban," the movie is true to what really drives Rowling's series: the coming-of-age of its title character. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, giving his best performance of the character yet) may be surrounded by magical creatures, eccentric supporting players, and mighty portents, but for all that he remains a growing and often confused boy who doesn't quite know how to talk to girls and is more than a little embarrassed by all the attention he receives. Take, for example, the sequence where Harry is selected to compete in an inter-school competition known as the Triwizard Tournament, despite the facts that a) Harry is three years too young to compete and b) Hogwarts already has its official representative. That dirty work is afoot is obvious to Harry, Dumbledore, and the audience, but everyone else believes Harry must have cheated to get into the tournament, even his best friend Ron. So Harry walks down the school corridors alone, trying to ignore the virtual hail of insults and slights from his classmates. Anyone who's dealt with the short end of the teenage social order knows his pain.
Of course, the eccentric supporting players and big set pieces are still in abundance. With each installment, the Hogwarts roster becomes a little more crowded, and it's remarkable that the movie has room for as many cast members as he has. The majority of the returning and new adult playersMaggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs, Timothy Spall, Miranda Richardson, and David Tennant among themare limited to short bursts of screen time but make the most of what they have, as if trying to prove that old adage about small parts vs. small actors. Brendan Gleeson, as a mysterious and slightly disturbing new addition to the faculty, gets a bit more to do and enjoys himself doing it. Newell delivers on the story's key sequences: a Quidditch World Cup that looks like the Super Bowl crossed with the biggest SCA event on record, encounters with a dragon and merpeople, Hogwarts' first school dance, an enormous hedge maze that would make the Goblin King in "Labyrinth" weep with envy, and Harry's confrontation in a graveyard with the newly emerged Voldemort (Ralph Finnes, whose elegant malevolence calls to mind Emperor Palpatine in the "Star Wars" movies).
The movie stumbles a bit at the end, where things wrap up too quickly and some set-up for the next installment is left out. But its hard to complainthe film of "Goblet of Fire" is everything the Harry Potter books are at their best: exciting, humorous, heart-tugging, and magical.