>>REVIEW
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
STARRING Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson
DIRECTED BY Mike Newell
Opens Friday, November 18
Check listings
Aw shucks, the kids are growing up. It seems like just yesterday it was all harmless mischief with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson). Even when their adventures got out of hand, Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) was ready to bail them out.
This year voices are lower and hairstyles are longer. Crushes abound when foreign students – classy French chicks and Bulgarian tough-guys – bunk in for the year at Hogwarts for the famous Tri-Wizard Tournament. And even Dumbledore is dumbfounded when the goblet of fire selects Harry as a competitor for the dangerous event, given that he’s too young to compete and didn’t actually enter.
Plot-wise, Goblet of Fire breaks from the usual need to solve a Voldemort-related mystery. In fact, talk of "you-know-who" is mostly absent from the film until the final scene. No wonder. The biggest thing on anyone’s mind is getting a date to the Yule Ball, a high-stress social event offered in conjunction with the tournament. And while the friendship between the three heroes always seemed unflappable, this year a couple of rifts threaten their cozy bond. Despite all the teenage social angst, the tightly paced film is probably the most exciting of the series to date.
British director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mona Lisa Smile) is the latest cineaste to take a stab at the series. Seemingly an odd choice, he does a terrific job streamlining the plot – the Dursleys and Ron’s haughty older brother Percy are notable omissions. But new characters such as Mad Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) and an eccentric reporter make up for these absences. The computer-generated effects are even better than Prisoner of Azkaban. Highlights include an international quidditch match played in a massive stadium, an aerial duel between Harry and a dragon, and a fantastic underwater sequence.
If you’ve tended to wrinkle your nose at Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire might just be smart, funny and exciting enough to change your mind. |
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