Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers © 2005
- Better than a cheese royale

 Essentially for children and fans, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire wants to make sure the target demographic gets the point. These are the people who have higher expectations than the rest of the audience, like Star Wars fans who linger over then significance of Darth Vader’s morbidity complex. There is an interest for the Harry Potter filmmakers to please the story’s fans. Some scenes repeat particulars to aid younger viewers, points that alert adults will already get. Like The Phantom Menace (read: Star Wars Episode I) there are some important plot turning revelations for fans to unravel before the next instalment released in 2007. However, for non-fans and fans alike, adult and children, there is a great story to enjoy, in spite of some of the movie’s deficiencies.

But something is amiss: Harry is too young, and there is a danger in letting him compete, but the goblet’s choice cannot be overruled. It is the rules. The movie must set-up a life or death situation for Harry because this has become the pattern in the series, and it does so coherently. Maybe there is something significant in that dream after all.

Central to the story is how good and evil is portrayed, a pertinent topic in light of how the terms were described in reaction to post 9/11 terrorism (the first Harry Potter movie opened in 2001, as did the first The Lord of the Rings). Light and dark imagery is used in this movie, including through effective subtle technique, to foreshadow the larger good verses evil conflict, portrayed supernaturally by the very nature of the film’s subject matter involving “magic”. (Note: the climax will be difficult for some younger children to swallow because of its scary and graphic imagery).

However, disconcerting is the central character’s lack of acting presence. Daniel Radcliff goes through the motions playing the gawky and bespectacled chosen one, being put through his paces like robotic machinery. His close friends, Ron and Herimone, have more interesting character and performance nuances. Among the large British cast, including Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith, Brendan Gleeson as the grumpy teacher against type and Ralph Fiennes stand out. Not to be outdone, Alan Rickman is creepily good, as his earlier turns in the role proved.

In Goblet of Fire’s two-and-a-half hours there are flat lulls and nondescript action. Harry’s fellow competitor says quietly, “such a game”, indicating the lengths one must endure in each challenge, but they don’t scale imaginative heights or depths. Even though the first tournament challenge involves dragons, you get the feeling that the movie is not trying hard enough to win us over, although the special effects are seamless. But it is a good story well told.