Looking back at Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Its the fourth Harry Potter movie, and the darkest yet.

Mark looks back at Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire…

Dark and difficult times lie ahead.

Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.

Dumbledore

So said most of the promotional material forHarry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

A grave warning from Michael Gambons Dumbledore to our young hero doesnt exactly scream family fun, does it?

But at least this one followed through.

First of all, Warner Bros was on the lookout for a new director.

As far as Im concerned, its absolutely possible to do it in one.

Well, that idea never came up again, did it?

The kid just wanders into another year at school, then this huge notion of the competition surprises him.

But there is, of course, a malign intelligence which is manipulating things.

Thats a really good, strong thriller shape.

However, this film is more tonally rampant than youd be led to expect from Newells attitude.

It does, however, feel somehow more pedestrian than its immediate predecessor.

It definitely shows that this one was adapted from a much longer book than the previous stories.

But rather than actually show the match, we skip forward to the aftermath.

The film is packed with these jumps.

To his credit, screenwriter Steve Kloves takes most of the extraneous subplots right out of the film.

But for those in the know, it actually makes it seem weirder that they didnt excise more.

The row with Harry reaches a resolution, but Hermiones hurt feelings are forgotten.

The fulcrum upon whichThe Goblet Of Fireleans is Voldemorts return to power.

This time, Harry doesnt defeat him through circumstance or his mothers love.

This climax is the series most honest-to-goodness terrifying sequence.

In hindsight, hes even more repellent to some film fans for his callous murder of Robert Pattinson.

However, Tennant has scant screen time, for reasons of his character looking like Brendan Gleeson.

Crouch Jr. masquerades as Moody all year, courtesy of Polyjuice Potion.

Gleeson is essentially playing someone else playing his character.

Even Ron and Hermione seem, for the first time, like supporting characters rather than leads.

Michael Gambon shines through best, giving more definition to his performance.