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I’ll admit it. I’m a Harry Potter fan.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m not some sort of weirdo who’s camped out inside a Barnes & Noble waiting for one of the books to be released. Oh, wait a second, yes I am. Twice.

Due to this kind of devotion to all things Potter, I was a little bit skeptical about heading to the cinema to check out Goblet of Fire. As far as the movies go, I enjoyed Christopher Columbus’ initial exploration into the Harry Potter universe enough… but felt that the “realism” introduced by Alfonso Cuaron in Prisoner of Azkaban to be the cinematic equivalent of an unfortunate diarrheic explosion.

With another new director for the franchise, I was afraid Goblet (one of my favorite Potter books) would suffer the same fate. Adding to my frustration was the fact that said new director’s only major film credit to date has been Mona Lisa Smile.

It’s not that I have anything against Julia Roberts movies, but…

Actually, yeah… fuck Julia Roberts movies.

Anyway, back to Harry Potter. From the opening image of Goblet of Fire (which was eerily reminiscent of something out of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy), I knew that I was in for a treat. This film had the darkness of Azkaban (although it’s more justified in doing so, considering that it’s *SPOILER ALERT (highlight to read)* the rise of Lord Voldemort and all) but kept the magic of Chamber of Secrets in tact.

Seeing as I’m an actor, it will forever be my curse to constantly evaluate the on-screen performances of a film’s cast, instead of simply enjoying the story being told. On the whole, I felt that the performances given in this film were simply outstanding. Alan Rickman is able to capture one’s attention and imagination without saying a single word in the first couple of minutes of the film. Michael Gambon finally manages to earn my acceptance as Albus Dumbledore (although I still may compare him to Richard Harris every now and then). Cast newcomer Brendan Gleeson embodies Mad-Eye Moody in a way that was perfectly in sync with the images I had already created in my head from reading the book.

And that’s not even mentioning Ralph Fiennes.

But the real stars of the film are “the trio,” Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. Watching Azkaban, you still had doubts about the three young actors (especially Grint, whom they turned to a near-mute in the third installment), but Goblet of Fire gives them the credibility they’ve been searching for. The on-screen chemistry between Radcliffe and Grint plays wonderfully enough that you believe the conflict between the two characters in the film and enjoy every comedic moment they masterfully deliver. Emma Watson handles her role as Hermoine exceptionally well, too… and she’s pretty damn hot.

Critiquing the film itself proves to be tricky. Being a Harry Potter fan, I found the film extremely enjoyable. I didn’t mind any of the cuts that were made from the source material (although the more faithful the adaptation, the happier that I’ll be), unlike the frustration I felt over the botched ending of Azkaban. The only thing I was a bit concerned about with this film is that it’s a bit “inside.” This movie not only assumes that you’ve seen the other three in the franchise, but that you’ve already read the book. If you haven’t read the book, the multitudinous quick-cuts and half-baked scenes in the beginning of the film will probably leave you slightly clueless throughout. And if you haven’t read the books or seen the movies, then you’ll be left in the dark because you don’t know what Polyjuice Potion is (which ruins not only many moments in the film where dramatic conflict arises because of the creation of said potion, but the resolution of the story that heavily relies on a familiarity with it — see Chamber of Secrets).

I think it’s also worth a mention that the CGI’s pretty crap. For some reason, it was more convincing in the first two flicks, where everything was a bit more cartoon-like anyway.

I’d also like to give a hand to Patrick Doyle, the composer on this project. It certainly wasn’t easy to follow in John Williams’ footsteps on this project (especially while still using his themes), but he did one hell of a job. The score to this film was delicious — a little darker than the other Potter films, with a little bit of a Batman-esque edge to it. It sounds wonderful.

All in all, it certainly was one entertaining film… and it looks absolutely wonderful if you get a chance to see it on a digital projector.

Mike Newell… I shall allow you to live.