Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Serious Kick-Ass Moviegoing

WARNING: This post will contain spoilers because I'm a Pott-head and I can't contain my Harry Potter enthusiasm long enough to shut my hole about the juicy bits. It's just something we'll all have to deal with.

Usually I read what critics say about films I'm dying for because I can't resist a sneak peek into what I'm about to see at the multiplex. I'm one of those people who can't help but read spoilers about TV shows (I'll never forgive myself for reading about what was in the hatch before the season premiere of Lost this year), and I always find myself jealous that I can't put my two cents in about what I think about things.

But as I figured out last week, I am a critic now. So buckle up, here we go.

I saw the latest installment of the story of The Boy Who Lived in all its glory on IMAX. Go see it on IMAX, you guys; you'll thank me.

Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sees the school playing host to an ancient wizarding competition -- The Triwizard Tournament. Exchange students from two other wizarding schools come to Hogwarts for the year and one "of-age" student (in the wizarding world, that means 17) from each school is chosen to compete by a Goblet of Fire that spits out the names of the chosen students. In a suspicious turn of events, Harry Potter's name also is chosen, despite the fact that he is only 14. Due to a binding magical contract, however, the Goblet's choices must be upheld, and Harry begins his newest adventure.

Goblet of Fire has a decidedly dark feel to it -- darker than Azkaban had -- although director Mike Newell, the first Brit to direct a Potter film, knows just how to translate J.K. Rowling's British wit from paper to celluloid. This film has a very lived-in feel to it, and one can tell that Newell knows a thing or two about being a teenage schoolboy in Britain.

The details are what makes Newell's film special. Ron wears a knitted sweater with a big "R" on the front on the train ride up to Hogwarts, a little piece of continuity from the earlier films when we learned his mom knits him one every year for Christmas. Early in the film, Harry walks into what looks like an ordinary camp tent but sees, once inside, that it's the size of a house. At this, Harry says, "I love magic!" with such wonderment and earnestness that you can tell Newell also loves -- or at least respects -- the limitless magical world Rowling has so lovingly created. Details like these do not go unnoticed and give the film credibility as a part of a series in addition to being a quality film in its own right.

Newell's finest achievements come in the way he portrays the interactions of the students as they jump headfirst into their teens. Goblet of Fire is the funniest of the Potter books mostly because of the introduction of a Herculean task for the teen boys: finding dates to the Yule Ball. Although many details from the book had to be shaved down because of time constraints, the awkward dialogue about girls that made the book so memorable is still intact. In a particularly humorous scene in which Harry wants to ask his crush Cho Chang to be his date, Harry remarks that girls always travel in packs: "How are you ever supposed to get one on her own?" he laments, while an even more befuddled Ron registers a look on his face that is one part hopeful and two parts terrified.

These moments of levity are not just enjoyable, but necessary; despite the everyday antics of teen life passing by as if there is nothing out of the ordinary going on at Hogwarts this year, we are never allowed to laugh long enough to forget something sinister is upon us.

The film begins ominously in one of Harry's dreams, as we slither into Harry's subconscious alongside Nagini the snake making her way to her master, Lord Voldemort, who is living in an old mansion plotting dark and evil things, as he is wont to do. We see him kill the caretaker of the house without a hint of remorse, and Harry wakes up breathless in a cold sweat, the rest of us panting along with him in anticipation.

This dream sets the stage of continuity for the remainder of the film; Harry will have it over and over again, as he tends to do, and we'll finally see the dream end not with waking in a pool of sweat, but in a real-life showdown with the Dark Lord and the senseless murder of one of Harry's classmates.

Ralph Fiennes is phenomenally wicked as Voldemort, and Hollywood should let the man play baddies more often (think Schindler's List) because he clearly gets a kick out of it and rocks the whole film when he gets to be the villain.

Speaking of fabulous actors rocking their roles, it's becoming clear that the kids in the Potter series still are no match for their big-name, grown-up co-stars who play the motley crew of adult wizards in the film.

Alan Rickman continues to delight wickedly (if a bit too infrequently) as Potionsmaster Snape, with his monotone menace and greasy glares. Robbie Coltrane sadly is limited in his screen time as lovable Gameskeeper Hagrid, although the scene in which he dresses up to impress Madame Maxime, headmistress of one of the visiting schools, itself is worth the price of admission.

The best new castmember award must go to Brendan Gleeson for his twitchily paranoid portrayal of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Mad-Eye Moody. I can't wait to see him steal the show in Order of the Phoenix.

The always-wonderful Maggie Smith and Miranda Richardson, who had her breakout role in Newell's Dance With A Stranger 20 years ago, also turn in excellent performances in sadly scaled-down parts.

Despite the excellent performances by the adults, the younger actors have only gotten better in this fourth installment, although they flounder at times.

Rupert Grint (Ron) truly embodies the overshadowed, downtrodden best friend of the famous Harry Potter and seems to be emerging as the real star of the younger bunch in these films. It's a true compliment to say that I could not have imagined Ron when I was reading Goblet of Fire years ago any better than he is portrayed by Grint in the film.

Emma Watson (Hermione) is nothing if not earnest, and as the youngest of the three lead actors, it is a testament to her potential that she never fails to deliver heartfelt emotion when asked for it, even if she overacts at times. She's got a beautifully expressive face, and the camera captures her wonderfully. So often in this grim chapter of the Harry Potter saga, things would have fallen flat without Watson's shot of emotion to bring integrity to the script.

I love him to death, but Daniel Radcliffe still seems to struggle a bit with the admittedly gargantuan task of bringing Harry Potter to life. I applaud him for his considerable effort and commitment, but he's still not quite there yet. It will be interesting to see him in Order of the Phoenix, because I think he might just come into his own in that one. Part of the problem with Radcliffe is that Harry is just so iconic and I love the character so very much that no one could possibly live up to the Harry Potter I've imagined for myself. He sometimes just seems a little too -- and I'm sorry to say it, but -- wooden.

However, I have to give Radcliffe kudos for owning the scene in which he comes back from the graveyard clutching the Triwizard Cup in one hand and Cedric's lifeless body in the other. When Dumbledore tries to pull Harry off of Cedric and Harry throws himself on top of Cedric's body wailing and sobbing in protest, the weight of seeing Harry trying to protect the boy in death in a way he could not protect him in life makes this the most powerful moment of the film.

It also marks a pivotal point in the series in which Harry Potter loses whatever is left of his boyish innocence and grows up in a single moment, having faced the wickedest evil there is with no one to shelter him from the blow. Radcliffe nailed it. And good for him. It must be terribly difficult for him to be so young and to carry so much responsibility on his shoulders for these films; with this scene, he did not disappoint.

It's core is dramatic, but Goblet of Fire also is a thrilling action film. The action sequences are awesome, particularly the scene in which Harry must battle a ferocious dragon. Admittedly I am naiive when it comes to special effects and CGI, but swear I couldn't tell the boy wasn't really outflying a fire-spewing dragon on his broomstick. Only the geekiest of film nerds will be able to find fault with the effects.

And so another chapter of the saga of Harry Potter has been brought to the screen. We have been set up perfectly for what is to come. Harry definitely no longer is a timid boy out of place in a world of wizards, and Hogwarts no longer is a safe haven for him. It's time for Harry to turn 15 and to begin to understand the gravity of his situation and how to cope with being the only wizard who can deliver his entire race from evil. He will start to stew in his teenage angst and to question and resist authority instead of respecting it outright -- Goblet's Dumbledore is no longer infallible, and Harry sees that as a sign. If Dumbledore, the only wizard Voldemort ever feared, does not know how to recognize, to face, and to battle the Dark Lord, Harry really might just be on his own.

Who else loves Neville?!? pilarrrgh@gmail.com