I didn't know what to expect when I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  Of the books, GoF is my favorite and so I cringed at the thought of it getting messed up.  I was not happy at all with the last movie, Prisoner of Az which I think sacrificed too much of the story in order to turn in a "lean" movie. 

The first two Harry Potter movies were merely okay in my opinion.  American directors, for some reason, end up making movies that look amazingly clean and pristine. Not at all like the real world. TV and movies seem to get blurred. 

Then comes Goblet of Fire which, to me, shows what a truly talented director can do.  The movie had a much more...epic feel to it.  It was a real joy to watch.  And while the special effects were uneven at times, they helped drive the story as opposed to derail it (cough)Revenge of the Sith(cough).  Given how much had to be cut in order to make the running time, I was impressed with how well it remained true to the core story.

The movie isn't for little kids though.  Where my little ones enjoyed the first two, Goblet of Fire scared my 5 year old pretty good and my 8 year old, while enjoying it, definitely found it a lot more intense than the previous -- as it should be, Goblet of Fire is a coming of age story.

One criticism of the movie would be with regards to pacing. Some parts linger on and others feel rushed.  There is a significant segment dedicated to the formal "ball" that really adds nothing to the story yet felt very rushed leaving someone who hasn't read the book (or hasn't in a long time) scratching their head wondering why they included this part at all if they were going to rush through it. 

My other criticism has to do with casting.  The casting of Voldemort was dreadful.  Voldemort was not impressive at all and as he simpered his lines, I was thinking "Heck, I could take this guy..."  I was really surprised with the casting choices on Voldemort since I suspect most people have a fairly similar concept of what this character would be like and on screen other than looking vaguely like his description, he was played not at all like the one imagined.

Still, these are nits and I suspect that most Potter fans will find that this one is the best of the movies so far.  The candy land feel of the first two has been wiped away, replaced by a dark yet magical world that leaves the viewer hungry for more.

4 stars out of 5.