Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Breathe easy Harry Potter fans! "The Goblet of Fire" will not disappoint. If anything, I left really wanting more.

It's year four at Hogwarts for Harry, Ron and Hermione (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson) and the year is already off to a rough start. Harry has been having bad dreams involving Voldemort all summer and Death Eaters show up at the World Quidditch Cup foreboding the return of the Dark Lord. Serving as a distraction from all things evil is the Tri-Wizard Tournament, which pits one student each from three different wizarding schools. Each wizard has to be a minimum of 17-years old as the danger is extreme. At least that's how things are suppose to go until the Goblet of Fire spits out a fourth name, Harry Potter.

This leads to conflict of all sorts as Harry is accused of somehow subverting the rules and submitting his own name. Surprisingly, one of his biggest accusers is his usually staunch ally Ron. Eventually though the troops rally to Harry's side, also supporting the other Hogwarts entrant Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson). All four teen wizards face challenges ranging from dragons to underwater creatures, all with great CGI effects.

It's the third challenge, however, that leads to perhaps the greatest conflict of any "Potter" movie to date. In a brutal scene involving death, dismemberment, and the drawing of Harry's blood, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) rises again. The scene itself is dramatic and clearly marks a turn in Harry's life. It could also scare some of the younger members of the audience.

Each character gets their moment to shine, but for me that just isn't enough. The characters are all there, but we don't get to see much of them. Snape is barely there, Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is much better in this outing, yet Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps) nearly steal every scene they're in. Emma Watson shines as Hermione, who deals with mixed feelings for Ron, and Rupert Grint could not be better as Ron. If anything, this movie really has its full attention on Harry, and Daniel Radcliffe once again steps up his acting abilities.

So far the third installment is still my favorite, but a second viewing of "Goblet" may change my mind. There's a lot going on here in a relatively short period of time, and that's what made it feel rushed to me. At the same time, there is a lot to take in as our young heroes continue to grow and as darker times are just ahead. I give this an A-.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is rated PG-13 (some language and a couple scary scenes) with a running time of 157 minutes.