Like a fine wine, Harry Potter continues to improve with age as each succeeding film version of Rowling's books seemingly surpasses the last.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:214
Fresh:188
Rotten:26
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: The main characters are maturing, and the filmmakers are likewise improving on their craft; vibrant special effects and assured performances add up to what is the most complex yet of the Harry Potter films.
Runtime: 2 hrs 38 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
US Box Office: $289,994,397
Synopsis: Difficult times lie ahead for Harry Potter. Beset by nightmares that leave his scar hurting more than usual, Harry (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) is all too happy to escape his disturbing dreams by... Difficult times lie ahead for Harry Potter. Beset by nightmares that leave his scar hurting more than usual, Harry (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) is all too happy to escape his disturbing dreams by attending the Quidditch World Cup with his friends Ron (RUPERT GRINT) and Hermione (EMMA WATSON). But something sinister ignites the skies at the Quidditch campsite - the Dark Mark, the sign of the evil Lord Voldemort. It's conjured by his followers, the Death Eaters, who haven't dared to appear in public since Voldemort (RALPH FIENNES) was last seen thirteen years ago - the night he murdered Harry's parents. Harry longs to get back inside the safe walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Professor Dumbledore (MICHAEL GAMBON) can protect him. But things are going to be a little different this year. Dumbledore announces that Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament, one of the most exciting and dangerous of the wizarding community's magical competitions. One champion will be selected from each of the three largest and most prestigious wizarding schools to compete in a series of life-threatening tasks in pursuit of winning the coveted Triwizard Cup. The Hogwarts students watch in awe as the elegant girls of the Beauxbatons Academy and the dark and brooding boys of Durmstrang Institute fill the Great Hall, breathlessly awaiting the selection of their champions. Ministry of Magic official Barty Crouch (ROGER LLOYD PACK) and Professor Dumbledore preside over a candlelit ceremony fraught with anticipation as the enchanted Goblet of Fire selects one student from each school to compete. Amidst a hail of sparks and flames, the cup names Durmstrang's Quidditch superstar Victor Krum (STANISLAV IANEVSKI), followed by Beauxbatons' exquisite Fleur Delacour (CLÉMENCE POÉSY) and finally, Hogwarts' popular all-around golden boy Cedric Diggory (ROBERT PATTINSON). But then, inexplicably, the Goblet spits out one final name: Harry Potter. At just 14 years old, Harry is three years too young to enter the grueling competition. He insists that he didn't put his name in the Goblet and that he really doesn't want to compete. But the Goblet's decision is binding, and compete he must. Suspicion and jealousy abound as muckraking journalist Rita Skeeter (MIRANDA RICHARDSON) fans the flames of the Harry Potter backlash with her outrageous gossip columns. Even Ron begins to believe his "fame seeking" friend somehow tricked the cup into selecting him. Suspecting that whoever did enter Harry's name in the Tournament deliberately wants to put him in grave danger, Dumbledore asks Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody (BRENDAN GLEESON), the eccentric new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, to keep his highly perceptive and magical eye trained on the teenage wizard. Harry prepares for the challenging Triwizard tasks - evading a fire-breathing dragon, diving into the depths of a great lake and navigating a maze with a life of its own. But nothing is more daunting than the most terrifying challenge of them all - finding a date for the Yule Ball. For Harry, dealing with dragons, merpeople and grindylows is a walk in the park compared to asking the lovely Cho Chang (KATIE LEUNG) to the Yule Ball. And if Ron weren't so distracted, perhaps he would acknowledge a change in his feelings for Hermione. Events take an ominous turn when someone is murdered on Hogwarts grounds. Scared and still haunted by dreams of Voldemort, Harry turns to Dumbledore. But even the venerable Headmaster admits that there are no longer any easy answers. As Harry and the other champions battle through their last task and the advancing tendrils of the ominous maze, someone or something is keeping a watchful eye. Victory is in sight, but as they edge closer to the Triwizard Cup, all is not as it seems - and Harry soon finds himself hurtling head-first toward an inevitable encounter with true evil... --© Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Miranda Richardson, Jarvis Cocker, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, Robert Pattinson
Director: Mike Newell
Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Producer: David Heyman, David Barron, Tanya Seghatchian
Composer: Patrick Doyle
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
It's too episodic, relying on action rather than emotion. The pace is headlong, so that the characterisation suffers.
The best part, I think, is that this fourth Harry Potter film goes further than its predecessors in setting out a moral map that reaffirms the values of human decency, loyalty and selflessness - and does so with great flair and endless entertainment.
Chapter four in the boy-wizard franchise, and still no good scenes, interesting characters, or true imagination
Followers of the series will find a more mature Harry and a more mature style, less sugary but not actually drier than the previous films.
The action in Goblet of Fire is more exciting and faster-paced than in previous Potter films, and visually, it is by far the most splendid.
This new story starts off as just another adventure, more or less, but by the end, the situation faced by its protagonists has become much darker, and much more dire.
Never feels anything other than a single thread of a larger narrative.
The grim tone feels overwrought but, in [Mike] Newell's hands, and in those of his cast and screenwriter's, the movie remains dramatically solid
It’s refreshing that Potter 4 aspires to be a paranoid thriller rather than yet another detective mystery. House points, too, for the movie's terrific effects and considerable charm.
The series is now being treated as it should be, with the right mix of magic, danger, and drama, without watering anything down just so a younger audience can be snagged.
Anything but a disappointment. Even if it doesn't achieve the lyrical enchantment of Prisoner of Azkaban, it nonetheless makes good on Rowling's darker turn in the series.
...the Potter movie series has not only not run out of steam but appears to be getting better as it goes along.
In the book this is a wholly engrossing story -- an epic tale of good and evil and loss and yearning. Transported to the screen, however, it has sustained a few dinks and dents.
The film’s quick pace and near-constant action carries you along quite nicely.
So bloated and joyless that it makes one pine for the bland mediocrity of Chris Columbus.
Latest News for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
July 14, 2009:
RT Visits the Set of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
As RT is brought into Leavesden Studios, past a pair of workmen poring over blueprints for a large, conical tower with a tall spire roof, the sense that we're entering a... More...
November 25, 2008:
ABC Family Offers First Look at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ![]()
Attention, "Harry Potter" fans: ABC Family's planning another "Potter" weekend, and this year's will feature the world television premiere of the special extended edition of... More...
August 19, 2008:
The Battle of the Harry Potter and Twilight Bands ![]()
Maybe you waited in line at midnight to get your Harry Potter fix, but compared to Paul DeGeorge and other "wizard rockers" -- not to mention the folks starting bands inspired... More...
February 21, 2008:
David Yates Directing Final Harry Potter Film?
It appears as though David Yates will be the one helming the final Harry Potter film -- but his decision comes at a price for fans anticipating another literary adaptation. More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at Rotten Tomatoes
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at IGN
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Join Moon director Duncan Jones' quest to get Sam a nod.

TIME tells us the tales behind 13 of Hollywood's most famous wolfmen.

The 57-year-old is headed back to the Playhouse. Details catches up with the iconic star.

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions

The year's biggest film is here and we're giving away big Transformers prize packs -- including both movies and the animated series.



Top Critic


