Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

***Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*** is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, based on the 2000 novel of the same name. Produced by David Heyman and written by Steve Kloves, it is the sequel to *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* (2004) and the fourth instalment in the *Harry Potter* film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively. Its story follows Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts as he is chosen by the Goblet of Fire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament.

Principal photography began in early 2004, and the film premiered worldwide on 18 November 2005. Five days following release, it had earned over US$102 million at the North American box office, the third-highest first-weekend tally for a *Harry Potter* film behind *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1* and *Part 2*. *Goblet of Fire* enjoyed an immensely successful run at the box office, grossing $896 million worldwide, the highest-grossing film of 2005 and the sixth-highest-grossing film in the series.

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design. *Goblet of Fire* was the second film in the series to be released in IMAX. The film is one of the best-reviewed instalments within the series, being praised for the higher level of maturity and sophistication of its characters, plotline, tone, screenplay, and the performances of the lead actors. It was followed by *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* in 2007.

## Plot

Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts is about to start and he is enjoying the summer vacation with his friends. They get the tickets to The Quidditch World Cup Final, but after the match is over, people dressed like Lord Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes') "Death Eaters" set a fire to all of the visitors' tents, coupled with the appearance of Voldemort's symbol, the "Dark Mark" in the sky, which causes a frenzy across the magical community. That same year, Hogwarts is hosting "The Triwizard Tournament", a magical tournament between three well-known schools of magic in europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. The contestants have to be above the age of seventeen, and are chosen by a magical object called "the Goblet of Fire". On the night of selection, however, the Goblet spews out four names instead of the usual three, with Harry unwittingly being selected as the Fourth Champion. Since the magic cannot be reversed, Harry is forced to go with it and brave three exceedingly dangerous tasks.

## Why It's on Fire

1. One of the reasons this movie is so popular is because it represents a turning point in the saga; **literally**, this is the moment in the franchise in which **things just get serious and dark for real.** This is the movie in which Voldemort returns and becomes the main villain from then on. Right from the start in the opening Warner logo, rather than having the classic and calm Hedwig's theme, it's displayed with a darker and brutaler version of it, that serves as a warning that this won't be the family-friendly movie that the previous films were.
	* And since the tone of the movie changes on this one, this is the first time the series switched from being rated PG to PG-13, and its handled very well for the most part.
2. The premise is very interesting and it takes a different approach than the previous three movies; rather than being about a yearly school for Harry and his friends, it's about him being forced to enter a dangerous magical championship and try to survive it.
	* Likewise, the Triwizard's Tournament dynamic throughout the movie in which Harry has to participate in different magic challenges is very cool to watch; kind of like in other competition-themed movies and TV shows like *Squid Game* or *Speed Racer*.
3. Great acting especially from Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes, who debuts in the franchise as Voldemort.
4. Interesting and memorable new characters, especially Mad-Eye Moody and Cedric Diggory.
5. The world-building is impressive and cool.
6. Awesome sequences, especially the three tasks of the Triwizard's Tournament and Harry's final duel with Voldemort.
7. The Yule Ball scene is also very memorable and gives us a first hint of Ron's feelings for Hermione.
8. Great special effects for its time especially the way the movie managed to accurately recreate the horn-tailed dragon as described in the book.
9. A very unexpected plot twist in which is revealed that Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise.
10. **Lord Voldemort:** He's introduced for the first time in the franchise as a full character, **and he's absolutely menacing, terrifying and vile.** Ralph Fiennes' performance is very neat and it really helped to establish the character's malevolent persona. It's easily one of the best villain introductions in any movie; not to mention that the scene in which Wormtail resurrects him through a dark magic ritual is also very scary.
11. The harrowing moment when Harry returns from Voldemort's revival party with Cedric's body is pretty heartbreaking and easily one of the saddest moments in the saga.
	* Harry is crying over Cedric's body and hugging it. And when Dumbledore tries to get a better look and gently move Harry out of the way, Harry responds by sobbing "*No!*" repeatedly and shoving the headmaster away, still clinging to the body.
	* Cedric's father screaming and sobbing "*That's my son! That's my boy!*" in utter agony, then rushing over to the body and *bawling* over it, *screaming* in pure despair and horror.
	* The reactions of all the Hogwarts students in the audience. Ron and Hermione are clearly shell-shocked, Neville looks close to tears, the Durmstrang students—Krum and his friend, in particular—hang their heads in grief, and even the Weasley twins are quiet for once. Keep in mind that most of these students are **eleven to seventeen-year-olds**, and yet, they've already been through such a traumatic event.
	* Although they don't get much focus during the scene, Fleur's scream of pure terror and Cho crying as they see Cedric's body. It shows their actresses can really act.
		+ It's pretty quick, but in the scene where Fudge repeatedly urges Dumbledore to move the body, a hysterical Cho is being restrained by one of her friends, who keeps pressing her face into his chest, as if to shield her from the sight.
12. The film (much like the book) takes a nice jab at trashy tabloid journalists. Considering how invasive and sensationalist British tabloids can be, Rita Skeeter is clearly a jab against the likes of *The Sun* and *The Daily Mail*.
13. The film cuts out a lot of things that was considered padding in the book and made it feel bloated even if they were necessary for the progress of the story. This includes: Hermione starting SPEW, most of the school classes, Rita Skeeter's articles, and most of the other side plots.
14. While bitter, the ending is very interesting and leaves the viewer wanting for more; as we see Harry dealing with a post trauma of Cedric's death and convinced that nothing will be the same now that Voldemort has returned.