Make way for the best in the series

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire takes the series to an all new level of excitement and adventure. In this fourth edition in the movie series, Harry Potter is no longer trying to figure out the mystery behind Tom Riddle, the chamber of secrets, or the prisoner of Azkaban. In fact, this is the first movie in the series where Harry and his friends aren’t playing childish detective roles at all.

Another year at Hogwarts and another year older has brought Harry, Hermione and Ron into the first stages of puberty. It’s because of mild sexual references, scary scenes and a slightly heightened level of action and violence that this movie is the first in the series to receive a PG-13 rating.

In The Goblet of Fire, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is plagued by dreams of Voldemort’s return. To complicate the situation, Harry is mysteriously entered into the Tri Wizard Tournament against his will and is forced to compete as a wild card since the rules clearly state that once you are chosen by the goblet there is no backing out. Now Harry is up against one of his own, Cedric Diggory, as well as French student Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons Academy and Bulgarian student Viktor Krum, who may also be to be the greatest Quidditch seeker of his time.

Unnerving Harry further is his crush on a fellow student and his lack of nerve to ask her to the dance. Many young ladies have taken a new interest in Harry in this movie especially after he passes the first challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament, battling a dragon for a golden egg. Ron is enchanted by the visiting beauties from the French school and Hermione makes her first womanly appearance as the belle of the ball and date of the much sought-after Krum.

Unlike the previous movies in the series, this one winds down a dark path of deception, lies and even death. In the final challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament, after battling a dragon and barely escaping vicious mermaids, Harry must face a possessed Krum, his desire to win at the expense of another student’s safety and a face- off between himself and Voldemort, who was reborn using Harry’s blood.

Although there is much more action in this movie than in the previous three and even a little more fun and tricks, there is still something to be desired. Some scenes in the movie tend to drag, not to the point where viewers might become consciously annoyed, but it’s enough to drag a viewer down from the highs of the action scenes.

There were also scenes cut short from the movie that could have been used to better explain the situation, such as the scene where the school heads and top professors met to discuss the situation that arose when Harry was picked as a fourth contender in the Tri Wizard Tournament. The rules clearly state that only one contender from each school may compete, but the scene just blows right past that detail and focuses on the other rule where each contender chosen may not refuse the competition. Such a puzzling situation with obvious use of dark magic should not have been so easily decided upon by head figures and over looked by the director.

All in all this is easily the best movie in the series so far. The turn from childish antics and simple movie tricks to a serious and dark plot with an emphasis on the development of the children as human beings as well as wizards makes this movie stand out against the others. It is definitely this month’s must see movie.

-Jennifer Palmberg

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