Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Miranda Richardson, Brendan Gleason, Ralph Fiennes
Director: Mike Newell

The Harry Potter franchise needed to be rescued. The first two instalments directed by the "Home Alone" director Chris Columbus were flat, faithful to a fault and timid. They were about magic but did not enchant.

The third movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" directed by Alfonso Cuaron rescued the movies by making it edgier but lyrical.

Now the latest "Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire" directed by the British Mike Newell goes a step further and is actually nightmarish. It is close to being a horror movie.

The movie retains the spirit initiated by Cuaron but adds a whole dimension by introducing us to a nightmarish world where Harry will have to battle. The opening shot of the movie establishes this when we see a snake slithering out of the mouth of a skull engraving on a gate in the dead of night.

It culminates with Harry finally facing his mortal enemy Voldemort. Voldemort is the most frightening image yet of all the Potter movies. He means business.

Besides meeting Voldemort in the final scenes, the movie revolves around the Triwizard tournament, a ball, and the strained relationship between the three best friends Harry, Ron and Hermione who all reconcile in time.

The characters find themselves in such situations where they finally realise that they are children no more. In the closing scene, Hermione looks at Harry and Ron and says, "Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" It's the kind of statement mixed with regret at knowing you have crossed childhood and apprehension that all you do next will bear great consequences for others.

The plot criss-crosses between Voldemort staging a comeback with the help of his henchman. He hovers as a foreboding presence through out the movie. Then there is the eagerly anticipated Triwizard tournament where Harry controversially is chosen to represent Hogwarts.

The two plot lines converge towards the end where Voldemort and Harry have an unfinished battle but one which comes at a cost. There is a death in this movie.

All the regular actors make a reappearance. Daniel Radcliffe reprises his role as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley is played by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson essays the role of Hermione. Maggie Smith returns from the first two movies after skipping the previous one as Professor Minerva McGonagall.

In addition to Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, other new characters include Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody - a teacher whose roving, bulging eye suggests too much comfort with the dark side. The acclaimed actress Miranda Richardson is Rita Skeeter, a gossipy reporter who rarely lets the facts stand in her way.

Most of the action is presented in the form of the stages in the dangerous Triwizard tournament. Harry and other contestants have to battle a fire breathing dragon, plunge the depths of the lake to rescue their loved ones and in the final one find their way to an enchanted maze to find the trophy. The colours are muted and brooding. There is not a single shot of sunshine or bright colours.

The warmest moments are the ones where Harry, Ron and Hermoine each have to find a date for the ball. Harry has a crush on his classmate Cho played by Katie Leung. She easily provides the most refreshing moments and there should have been more of her.

Watson as Hermione performs her most emotionally wrenching scene when she lashes out at Ron for not asking her to the ball early enough.

In a fit of despair, she plants herself on the stairs in her beautiful evening dress with shoes that hurt. That is the most telling scene as a rite of passage. They are experiencing adult emotions, the innocence is lost, and Voldemort is waiting.