Harry is home for the holidays again and better than ever, back in time for Thanksgiving. The fourth installment of J.K. Rowling’s wildly popular series hit the big screen and is by far the best of the four.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the tale of Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts. The-Boy-Who-Lived lives on in typical Harry Potter fashion, but this school year is marked by the addition of the TriWizard Tournament, introducing two other magical schools from Europe and bringing more excitement and drama to Harry’s life.
As per TriWizard Tournament rules, each school has a champion selected by the Goblet of Fire (hence the name) to compete for it and for “eternal glory,” as Dumbledore so succinctly puts it. The champion from the French ladies’ magical school of Beauxbatons is drool-worthy, part-Veela Fleur Delacour. The champion from the Viking-esque men’s magical school of Durmstrang is none other than the best Seeker in all of Quidditch, Viktor Krum, who speaks hardly a lick of English. Hogwarts’ champion, surprisingly enough, is not Harry Potter–instead, it is Cedric Diggory.
But wait for it…then comes Harry, the fourth name the Goblet has ever given. Three schools with a champion each - four names - something just doesn’t add up. Hogwarts has two representatives. Foul play? Mystery and intrigue? Of course. What did you expect?
Naturally, this leads to some jealous feelings and tensions amongst Harry’s friends.
Competition ensues between the four champions, and as you meet the new characters – like the surprisingly creepy but decidedly funny Mad-Eye Moody, or the strangely Hitler-mustached Barty Crouch – it is obvious that the director did his best to capture the fantastic feel of the novel.
The final scenes are the creepiest of the entire movie series thus far. You finally get to see what Lord Voldemort is up to (trust me, you didn’t want to know) and things are not boding well for Harry or his friends, or the world for that matter.
So as not to ruin it, the movie concludes with a heart-breaking death followed up by a heart-breaking scene and leaves everyone thirsting for more. But those of us who’ve read the books already knew that.
Besides the ending, there are several surprising twists and lots of fun. The Yule Ball is definitely a different side of Hogwarts not usually seen – however, it is not quite as much fun for Harry and Ron, who both didn’t get the dates they wanted. Even Hermione has a date, much to Ron’s shock.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire moves quickly, but that’s not a complaint. The visual effects have improved, although a few areas are slightly questionable. Other effects are positively screaming “CHRISTMAS GIFTS!” and “RETAIL MANIA!”– for instance, Harry’s black Potter #4 jacket. It’s most likely that that’s going to be a wrapped present under at least 13 million Christmas trees around the world. “Dark and difficult times lie ahead, Harry,” Dumbledore soothes Harry at one point.
I can’t wait.