Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Directed by Mike Newell, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire follows Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) as he’s chosen to participate in an annual tournament and eventually finds himself face-to-face with Ralph Fiennes Voldemort. Filmmaker Mike Newell, working from Steve Kloves’ script, delivers what is undoubtedly the most erratically-paced entry to date within a seriously (and pervasively) hit-and-miss series, as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire suffers from a padded-out and aggressively episodic midsection that’s rarely, if ever, as compelling or engrossing as one might’ve anticipated – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by an ongoing emphasis on far-from-mesmerizing sequences and set-pieces (eg Harry and his friends attend a school dance, Harry participates in various games related to the aforementioned tournament, etc, etc). It’s clear, then, that the picture benefits substantially from its assortment of predictably stellar performances and a third act that packs one heck of a visceral, tense punch, as, in terms of the latter, Fiennes’ long-awaited introduction as the franchise’s central villain is handled superbly by Newell and enhanced by the actor’s absolutely spellbinding work as the fearsome, iconic foe – with the effectiveness of this portion of the proceedings essentially (and effectively) compensating for the less-than-enthralling bent of everything leading up to it, ultimately. The end result is a woefully uneven installment that feels, for the most part, as though it should be a good hour shorter (ie the tournament stuff could’ve transpired primarily via a montage or two), which is a shame, certainly, given that the picture boasts an impressive handful of undeniably engaging attributes and elements.

**1/2 out of ****

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