"Harry Potter and the Goblet
of Fire" is the latest film adventure of the bespectacled student sorcerer
of Rowling's amazingly well-imagined Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
And it may be the best filmed Potter of them all — though last year's
Potter No. 3, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," already
took a quantum leap forward in quality and sophistication.
The new film finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and
Ron (Rupert Grint) casting 14-year-old puppy eyes in various directions. Friendships
are torn asunder by jealousy and suspicion. There's a school dance to which
Hermione actually wears a gown. Ron takes one look at her and mutters, "They're
scary when they're grown up, aren't they?"
So while the movie starts off with a Quidditch World Cup bang, the sequence
feels rushed and secondary, like a highlight reel of the book's opening chapters.
Soon enough, Newell assembles the relevant troops: The students of two rival
academies of magic convene at Hogwarts for a grand Triwizard Tournament, with
one student from each school chosen by the Goblet of Fire to take part in an
enchantment triathlon.
When the action isn't focused on tournament face-offs, Harry and his pals are
facing other demons: their own insecurities and fears about the opposite sex.
The Yule Ball is a funny and welcome respite from the perilous tournament. The
wizarding students dance to the live music of rockers from Radiohead and Pulp.
Most important, this is the story that finally puts Harry face to (not-quite)
face with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the evil nemesis who killed his parents.
Producer David Heyman, cinematographer Roger Pratt and new director Mike Newell
help flood the screen with the usual technological amazements: incredibly believable
phantoms, flying submersible sailing ships, dragons, golden eggs, living paintings
and lively stained-glass windows, a rollickingly opulent kids' costume ball
and a vast forest maze that suggests a jacked-up version of the climax of "The
Shining."
| Chicago Tribune |
"...it may be the best filmed Potter of them all..." |
| filmcritic.com |
"...a rich movie with expert plotting, clever humor, and a sophistication
lacking in the earlier pictures." |
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
|
"...indisputably the best movie in the franchise thus far." |
