Rating: 4.5/5
Classification: M
Year of release: 2005
Run-time: 2 hours 37 minutes
Director: Mike Newell
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
This review contains SPOILERS
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth Harry Potter movie and is about Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returning to Hogwarts for his fourth year. Before Harry goes back to Hogwarts and even during his school year he discovers many red flags pointing to the return of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Harry has nightmares about what Voldemort is up to, Harry’s lightning shaped scar is hurting for the first time in years and the Dark Mark is conjured once again. Meanwhile Hogwarts is hosting the highly dangerous but vastly popular Triwizard Tournament where three wizarding schools traditionally select one student from each school to compete with each other to win a highly coveted prize.
The biggest reason I feel that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire stands tall among the series is because of one of the biggest defining Harry Potter moments, this movie ends with the dreaded moment of Lord Voldemort returning to physical form. Probably an inevitable moment that some fans may have known would happen at some point, but I believe because this movie is around the half way point of the Harry Potter films, this was the perfect instalment to have the danger becoming much more real for our heroes. The return of Lord Voldemort at the end of the movie has as much gravitas as it does also because of the death of Hogwarts student Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson). This was really the first time in the series where we saw the on-screen death of a heroic character and this makes the return of Voldemort not only frightening but also tragic and this makes for one of the most iconic endings of the series.
The way the Triwizard Tournament is interwoven with the return of Lord Voldemort is also well done. When Harry’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire you are left wondering who put his name in the goblet, and because Harry is not old enough to compete there is a great deal of controversy whether he should compete or not. Many characters also believed that Harry placed his own name in the goblet because Harry wanted the reward so badly and can’t resist shying away from being the centre of attention, this even lead to a brief falling out between Harry and Ron which had never happened in this series before. All this friction and tension after Harry’s name comes out of the goblet of fire was a terrific way of letting audiences know that there are greater forces at work here and that Harry’s participation in the Triwizard Tournament should be something to be concerned about, not just because people have died competing in this tournament before. The plan of getting Harry involved and competing in the tournament is of course a big trap so that Harry can help and witness Voldemort’s return and Voldemort can kill Harry there and then. This movie was also the first movie of the series to address the raging hormones of our main characters, the Yule Ball is one of the pivotal scenes of the movie and it was made all the more interesting because neither Harry nor Ron attended the ball with the girl they wanted to go with. This was one of the best Harry Potter moments that made the characters relatable with so many other kids who used to be or are around the same age when they saw this movie.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire succeeds because of its unforgettable climax, marking one of the biggest defining moments in the franchise that would ultimately mark a huge change for the tone of the remainder of the series. As our main characters are well in their teenage years at this point the movie also successfully touches on struggles and uncertainties many other kids who are going through similar phases in real life making these enduring characters more relatable which is one of the reasons of what makes these characters and these movies so beloved.