Product: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Rating: 4.0
Darker times lie ahead
The fourth installment of the Harry Potter series is by far the darkest of the movies released so far. "The Goblet of Fire" takes the audience through Harry, Ron, and Hermoine's entrance into adolescence, and all the struggles that implies. For Hermoine, that means being pursued by Bulgarian celebrity athlete Viktor Krum. For Ron, it's dealing with jealousy and relationship problems with both Harry and Hermoine. For Harry, it's battling dragons and water creatures, dealing with slanderous gossip, and getting a crush on Cho Chang.One of the strengths of "the Goblet of Fire" is the plot depth. Every film reveals something new about the mystery about Harry Potter and Voldemort; this fourth movie gives away the most answers yet, as well the most intense plot. Unlike the other three movies, the fourth suddenly lets the audience know that dark times have come to Harry, and will only get worse at time goes on. We see characters killed, and not just the villains. On the contrary, the villains get quite a bit accomplished in this installment, which will make for hard battles for Harry in later movies. Dumbledore is starting to appear weak, and Voldemort has just become a lot stronger.All in all, this is a highly enjoyable film, with excellent performances by the cast, but most of all by the supporting characters (notably Miranda Richardson and Brendan Gleeson). Enjoy the movie, but be careful about letting your little kids in on it.