'Arry Gobbles Fire

Despite it being the most action-packed and having the most distinctly different plot of the Harry Potter movies to date, The Goblet Of Fire is the movie I have trouble remembering the most. I kinda remember the Tri-Wizard tornament, the Christmas ball, the dragon fight and that someone dies at the end...but I couldn't remember how it all fitted together.

It really doesn't matter. Even with the inclusion of those distinctive scenes, Harry Potter 4 is pretty much like the first 3 movies. The kids go to school for a year. The same teachers are there apart from the Dark arts professor, who will contribute to the narrative in a major way. There's no immediate threat as the story takes place over a 9 month period so the intrigue is derived from a mystery. That mystery end with the revelation that Vordamort is trying to regain his fleshy, earth-bound form. The only real way Goblet differs substantially is that He Who Shall Not Be Named actually succeeds this time.

It's well made...the effects are impressive...the kids are acting better with every installment...and it's much faster paced than the previous 2 efforts. Plus it's always a thrill to see the cream of British thesps thrashing it out in the same scenes (Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Brendan Gleeson, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman...oh, and Warwick Davis).

At least things picked up after this with The Order The Phoenix. Despite Mike Newell's pedigree, TV hack David Yates is a much classier man to steer the franchise to it's conclusion.