Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: After a more serious approach from Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell largely gave us a far smaller, more charming coming-of-age adventure with 'The Goblet of Fire' where the mystery and stakes just bubble under the surface until the final act. Indeed, before the fateful confrontation with Voldemort, the narrative in this one mainly focuses on a rather simple series of obstacle courses in the tri-wizard championships where the only mystery really surrounds who entered Harry in the first place, and that makes for a film that's easier to follow and a little lighter on its feet. In fact in a way it's more like the first two films only with fewer world-building tangents, and that's arguably pleasing to some extent as it allows us more time to simply hang-out with these young characters. Their anxsty friendships and love interests are explored without them being tested to their limits, and there are times when it feels simply like a high-school movie that just so happens to be set in a world of Wizards and Witches.
  
  What really makes it though is that final act, as we finally get to meet that previously unnamed villain who we know will be the focus of the rest of the franchise, and that's made all the more engaging by the fact that we've spent so much time with Harry beforehand.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The stakes are definitely lower, so some of the obstacle courses feel a little obligatory as there's no real jeopardy. On a simply aesthetic and spectacle level too, this just isn't quite up there with the best.
  
  VERDICT: Apart from that final act, 'The Goblet of Fire' is a far smaller Harry Potter adventure than its predecessor that allows time to have a bit of fun and hang-out with its angsty young characters. That's no bad thing, and it means that by the end we really start to feel for Harry when we need to.

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