Review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) by Luke N — 19 Sep 2013

This is how a 'Harry Potter' movie should be done. After being terribly disappointed with the massively-popular third film, I went into this one very sceptically. But pretty much the very first scene, with the old man creeping through the cemetery and then up that creaky staircase, made me realize that 'Harry Potter' was back in the hands of a decent director.

The movie does have its flaws, of course, but for the most part, I think Mike Newell succeeded perfectly in transitioning the series from childish and magical into suspenseful and dark. Brendan Gleeson and Robert Pattinson both worked very well as their respective characters, and the three main protagonists are finally given the chance to showcase their acting as realistic, conflicted teenagers, who struggle with such concepts as asking the opposite sex to the ball.

Plus Harry falls in love for the first time. I'm a weirdo, and since the scene in 'Philosopher's Stone', when Hermione gets upset over Ron teasing her, I was painfully in love with Emma Watson and Hermione Granger.

In the sequence when Ron and Hermione start fighting at the Yule Ball, I couldn't help but smile, being finally given a scene that hints towards the unspoken love between the two characters. The action scenes are done just as perfectly, and thanks to Mike Newell, this entire film is richly enhanced with many little details that only a good director could accomplish.

There's the scene when Mad-Eye Moody teases the class with the spider, and then suggests that he force it to drown itself, instantly shifting a humorous scene into one of sinister tension. There's the scene when Harry and Cedric fight side by side as they run for the portal-key.

Even that little moment when Moody turns around to face Harry before he enters the maze, and subtlety points him in the right direction. There are so many more of these little touches that I just really appreciated, and in short, I'm quite shocked and disheartened that 'The Prisoner Of Azkaban' is considered the best movie, and not this one.