Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Harry Potter movies are certainly getting darker as the franchise ages, and the general gloominess of this fourth entry complements the menacing tone of the book's narrative, with its themes of rifts among friends, repeated threats of a most gruesome sort, death, and the rebirth of the evil wizard Voldemort, who is the fearsome villain at the center of the young hero's tragic history. While the PG-13 rating here is well-earned, the film isn't a violent, blood-drenched extravaganza; rather, the series just seems to be growing up along with its leads. Moreover, for a film that runs two and a half hours, director Mike Newell serves up a nicely-paced, streamlined adaptation of J.K. Rowling's bulky tome, marked by almost offhandedly flawless (and seamlessly integrated) effects—mostly related to the thrilling and dangerous Tri-Wizard tournament at the center of the story—and good performances all around. What makes Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire slightly inferior to the third installment is the narrative thread detailing Voldemort's scheme to be reincarnated, which seems rather pointlessly complex and ends in an overly familiar confrontation. On the other hand, the subplot involving the onset of puberty among the fourth-year students of Hogwarts is handled with a winning combination of cuteness and poignancy. Sure to bewitch fans of the series, this is recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, or a two-disc widescreen version, DVD extras include “Conversations with the Cast” (31 min.), a “Reflections on the Fourth Film” featurette (15 min.), “Meet the Champions” on the cast (13 min.), an 11-minute featurette on “He Who Must Not Be Named,” 10 minutes of additional scenes, three behind-the-scenes featurettes on the three tasks (“Harry vs. the Horntail: The First Task” on creating the dragon, “In Too Deep: The Second Task” on creating the underwater world, and “The Maze: The Third Task”), a nine-minute featurette on the “Preparing for the Yule Ball” scene, the DVD games “To the Graveyard and Back Challenge” and three “Triwizard Tournament” challenges, and DVD-ROM features, including the EA game demo and a Hogwarts timeline. Bottom line: a characteristically meaty extras package for one of the better films in the series.] (F. Swietek)