This film really is the turning point in the Harry Potter franchise, before this there was horror and scares and a lot of fun moments too, but this film cements Harry Potter as a blockbuster because of how many emotions you go through just in this one instalment. This was the film I was most fearful of re-watching due to how much it hurt me as a child, and unfortunately I have to say that that pain only gets amplified the older you get.

In Goblet of Fire we see three magical schools come together to compete for ultimate glory. There should be only three champions in the competition, one from each school, however Harry Potter’s name is also called because it is a Harry Potter film and he has to be the main character. In this film we have new characters join us including more people from the Ministry of Magic, opening up that world to us, and Professor Moody a very polarising character and one that is a joy to watch on screen but not always for the best reasons.

We see Harry go through these challenges including fighting a dragon for a golden egg, saving a friend from the depths of the lake that is full of mermaids, and finally being the first to grab the winning cup. But the cup is the big important part in this film due to it being a port key, a transportation device that sends Harry Potter right into the claws of Voldemort.

There are a lot of horrifying moments in this film but they are all over shadowed by Voldemort’s return, seeing this old man baby being dropped into a cauldron is both hilarious and terrifying, and then seeing how he is bought back recreated into a snake-like human is just awful and really makes you feel sick. I think the return of Wormtail as well as a character just absolutely disgusts me because not only is his actual personality horrific, but the way he is presented in the film based on his looks just makes my skin crawl, and that’s a testament to the actor because I have never hated a character as much as I hate him.

This film takes you through a wide range of emotions from enjoyment seeing the Quidditch World Cup to fear seeing the Death Eaters return and the Dark Mark in the sky, and even sadness when we see Cedric Diggory get murdered in cold blood then transported back to his father who was expecting him to be a champion but really is gone forever. That was the most terrifying moment I could think of re-watching these films, Cedric Diggory’s father crying over his son’s body, and I am so glad I watched this film again before I had children because I can’t imagine being a parent and having to sit through that.

I do believe this film has now come into the number one spot in my favourite Harry Potter films. As a child it was Prisoner of Azkaban but re-watching it I have noticed a lot of small problems, and they are problems that I simply cannot overlook. Whereas in this film the story flowed incredibly well, there were so many fascinating moments that really got bought to the foreground that you may not have noticed or known about in the previous films, and I especially enjoyed watching the children grow up becoming more teenager like and discovering the opposite sex and hormones and everything else, as well as all of the horrific things that are happening in their lives too. It’s really a film that you can connect with as a teenager watching it and watching it as an adult you can remember those days too which are always bitter sweet.

What do you think of Goblet of Fire?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Film and TV critic. View all posts by shonaharding