Susan Granger’s review: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (Warner Bros.)
What’s amazing about the Harry Potter franchise is that the films get better and better! Now at 14, Harry’s in his fourth year at Hogwarts School, where he faces not only the life-threatening Triwizard Tournament and the malevolent return of Lord Voldemort but also adolescent angst.
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are still close friends but their loyalties are tested when Harry’s name is mysteriously spewed from the Goblet of Fire as an unexpected, underage competitor for the prestigious Triwizard Cup with two visiting schools. In the midst of this, he’s tormented by evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and, most terrifying of all, he must find a date for the “well-mannered frivolity” of the Yule Ball.
While familiar characters – Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Timothy Spall, Matthew Lewis, and Tom Felton – return, there are curious new faces like Brendan Gleeson as the Dark Arts teacher known as Mad-Eye Moody, Robert Pattinson as hunky Cedric Diggory and Miranda Richardson as gossipy Rita Skeeter.
As director, Mike Newell (“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Mona Lisa Smile”) was a brilliant choice to capture the rebelliousness, insecurity and awkwardness of teenagers, exploring their competitiveness and rivalries. And screenwriter Steve Kloves cleverly condenses J.K. Rowling’s sprawling fourth book. Harry’s lesson here is apt: he must choose between what is right and what is easy. Because new audiences are added each year, Potter-mania will continue although its original core audience may have outgrown it. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is an awesome 10. Or, as Harry puts it, “I love magic!”
