From the get-go, the most glaring thing that I noticed was how much of the book had been left out. For instance, at the start of the movie, Harry is not with the Dursleys but with the Weasleys, which is a couple of chapters right there. In addition, there are entire characters that have been removed from the film for the sake of brevity and simplicity I'm sure (the book is something like 734 pages if I remember correctly). Thus we don't see any House Elves such as the familiar Dobby or the new character, Winky. We also do not see Ludo Bagman in this movie. And at the movies opening, we lead up to a World Cup Quidditch Match, but don't actually see it. It was as if director Mike Newell (the third director now of the Harry Potter series) decided, "Hey, we've seen the Dursleys and Quidditch matches before...let's get on to something new and different."

The core of the book's story, however, is left in tact and with the spectacular special effects offered by this film, it is quite a sight to behold. In this fourth installment, Harry and his friends are another year older (although on screen they look MUCH older) and in breaking the mold just a bit, we have a Tri-Wizard tournament that offers challenges not between houses of Hogwarts but with two other schools who come to visit: Durmstrang featuring Hungarian Hunks and Beaux-Batons featuring French vixens. It is up to the Goblet of Fire to select each contestant and the stage is set for three death-defying wizarding challenges when the Goblet selects Victor Krum, the world-famous Seeker from Bulgaria/Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour from Beaux-Batons, and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts. However, to everyone's surprise, including Dumbledore's, a fourth wizard is selected...Harry Potter.

The challenges offered to Harry and the other contestants is where the special effects really take over to tell the story. The best of these is the first where Harry faces off with a ferocious, flying, fire-breathing dragon. Harry is able to eventually summon his broomstick which begins a wild chase among the rooftops of Hogwarts. When reading about this in the book, I was not able to imagine with such clarity the viciousness of the winged beast or the frantic flying that was needed in order to escape it; I was thus both thankful and amazed when I was finally able to see this play out on the big screen.

Now what really relieves the tension and gives this film some real heart is the Tri-Wizard Ball. This is a dance not unlike a Homecoming dance at your High School. It is quite entertaining to see Harry and Ron stutter and stumble their way towards asking for dates, learning to dance, and getting all dressed up for the big day. And then Hermione leaves everyone speechless as she looks about five years older and like a runway model or even a princess in her flowing, formal gown. This ball is not only fun to watch but reminds us that these are young children fumbling their way towards adulthood. It also seems to connect us to them as we may not be able to identify with conjuring up spells or flying on broomsticks but have definitely felt (or will or are feeling) the overwhelming sensations of adolescent love.

Meanwhile, the evil Lord Voldemort has been plotting his return to power with the aid of his slimy servant, Wormtail (whom you'll remember was Ron's pet Scabbers for several years). The character Wormtail is either a ripoff or a tribute to the Wormtongue character from The Lord of the Rings.

This movie was a lot darker that its predecessors, but only for the final few scenes. For most of the movie it is kept lighthearted and fun, but towards the end it turns extremely dark as we lay witness to Voldemort's return to body and power. Those of you with young kids may want to either keep them at home or cover up their eyes during these last few minutes. However, for those who are a bit more brave, you will absolutely love not only the special effects and make-up for Lord Voldemort, but the acting as well. Performances were generally good in this movie all around, but Ralph Fiennes stole the show as You Know Who. He was the visage of pure evil and unchecked ambition.

As for the other performances, what I am most impressed with is the Harry Potter franchise's ability to retain its actors (with the most notable exception of Richard Harris as Dumbledore who died between the 2nd and 3rd movies). It is amazing to me how such high-caliber actors and actresses are being retained for even the smallest of scenes. For instance, Lucius Malfoy (Draco's father) is played by Jason Isaacs, a brilliant actor who says about 2 lines in this film, if that. I am also always impressed by Alan Rickman as Severus Snape who also is given little screentime. I absolutely loved it in this movie when he is warning Harry Potter about his truth serum, "The use of it on a student is...regrettably forbidden, but...my hand may just slip..." The nuances that he put into this line alone were worth the price of admission. And it was a bit disappointing for me to see much less involvement by such primary characters as Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson, whom I recall predicting from the very first Harry Potter movie will become a huge star). Much of their subplots from the book were left out for the movie.

Thus most of the film (big surprise here) centers around Harry Potter, who is of course played by Daniel Radcliffe. He is getting older, and better as an actor. However, what I'd like to see at some point though, is for Harry to do something besides look constipated whenever his scar hurts him. I had the same complaint of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) in The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps a shortness of breath, falling down, or even doubling over in pain would be in order besides the old constipation trick.

This could be the best Harry Potter film yet!