Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire (2005)

"Harry Potter finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares."

- IMDB

When it comes to these movies, I don't usually compare to the books that much. Most of the Harry Potter films aren't too bad at being good adaptions while also being good stand alone films. But when it comes to Goblet of Fire, I prefer the book way too much to fully enjoy it. We're at the part of the series where books tend to be much thicker to allow the movies to be perfectly adapted. Goblet of Fire did it's best, and is still a decent movie. But like I said, the book is superior.

We've entered the era of post Columbus & Williams, but that doesn't mean cast & crew faltered. We still had David Heyman, Stuart Craig, and Steve Kloves at the helm. Mike Newell and Patrick Doyle did okay as Director and Composer. As for cast, all the actors portraying those from Durmstrang & Beaxubatons were good, including Frances de la Tour and Predrag Bjelac as Maxime & Karkaroff. This film introduced Katie Leung as Cho Chang and also provided one time appearances to Robert Pattinson, David Tennant, and Roger Lloyd Pack as Cedric and the Barty Crouches. The two best cast additions definitely had to be Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Gleeson's portrayal of Madeye Moody is exactly how I always imagined it in the books. And the legendary Fiennes must be one of the greatest casting decisions made in the series because he just owns every scene Voldemort is in.

Despite little flaws here & there, the Triwizard Tournament was fun to watch. That's one thing they did perfectly, I just wish the schools and the champions had more time to be fleshed out. It also would've been cool to spend more time at the Quidditch World Cup. Not just for the Quidditch but also for the Wizarding cultures from around the world. This is also the first movie where we see a sore absence of the general ghost population floating around Hogwarts. 

I loved the Yule Ball scene. I do listen to the Weird Sisters songs from time to time. Hermione coming down the stairs in her gown has to be one of the character's most iconic moments. The whole final act is superb. From Voldemort's resurrection to the credits, no matter how you feel about the rest of the movie, this final act is truly a highlight, not just the movie but the entire series.

While it may not be my favorite, it's definitely the one I think I quote the most. "I'm not an owl," "Is that a student?", "That's my son! That's my boy!", "I can touch you now!" Man, all the memes from this movie! And Harry Potter fans will never ever ever forget when Dumbledore asked Harry "Did you put you name in the goblet of fire" calmly.

My Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆