The fourth movie based on J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter character has been released. And though fans of the book "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" may disagree about the quality of the film, it is pretty apparent that as a movie standing separate from the books this installment is immensely satisfying fare.

I have to admit that "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" has thus far been my favorite of the Harry Potter books. This being said, I went into the theater with a healthy dose of suspicion about whether the 734 pages of the book could be distilled down to a movie of about two hours. When I left the theater my suspicions were completely allayed. While I overheard many of my fellow movie goers lamenting the absence of this part or that part of the book’s story, in the end it has to be recognized that books and films are distinct mediums with different storytelling needs. If every detail of the book was put into this film to satisfy all readers’ desires to see their favorite bit of the story on screen, we’d still be sitting in the theater six hours later with extremely full bladders and bored to tears. As it is, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" professionally boils down the story to a well-paced on-screen telling of the loss of innocence as the heroes of the series, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), face growing up, first dates and death, as well as the physical return of the darkest figure in the books, Lord Voldemort.

Events in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" surround the Triwizard Tournament, a wizarding challenge played out by the world’s three major schools of magic. The Goblet of Fire accepts names from students willing to undertake the three perilous challenges of the tournament and then judges the one student of magic from each school who is worthy to participate. Harry is actually too young to participate, as he is only a year-four student at 14 and contestants must be 17 to enter. He is relived that this is one high-profile event he is not going to have to prove himself in. But by some strange circumstance, after the three champions are chosen, the goblet throws out a fourth name, that of Harry Potter. The rules are clear: Harry has to participate in the tournament.

Director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile) takes on the story with a decidedly dark tone. Young Harry spends a great deal of the movie either bleeding or bandaged. Newell’s pacing throughout the film seldom lets up the pressure except to show the bittersweet first steps of the main characters into the world of youthful dating as they participate in the tournament’s traditional dance ball between the challenges. After that it is back to the action and an unrelenting drive to the final confrontation between our hero and a menacing evil that has always hung as a specter in previous Harry Potter stories, but in this one fully manifests itself.

The young stars give adequate performances in their roles as heroes of the story, but as usual the best performances are reserved for the adult stars who play the supporting cast. Maggie Smith is sublime, as usual, in the role of Professor McGonagall. Alan Rickman is back but not given nearly enough lines as the villainous Professor Snape. (I love Rickman as a movie villain. One of my favorite movie lines ever was uttered by him in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) as the campy Sheriff of Nottingham, "And cancel Christmas!") Joining the cast is Brendan Gleeson as the new (and always ill-fated) defense against the dark arts professor, Mad-Eye Moody. Gleeson plays his new role with an eccentricity, and perhaps downright schizophrenia, that makes him a joy to watch on screen. He steals every scene he is in. Ralph Fiennes finally brings the character of Voldemort to full life with a performance that is wonderfully ethereal and at the same time filled with a loathing repugnance.

Visually the film is all a Potter fan could wish for. The first Triwizard challenge involving the stealing of gold eggs from different dragon species is outstanding. Unfortunately only Harry’s confrontation with the Hungarian Horntail dragon is actually shown. The advancement of computer generated characters just keeps getting better and this beast of extreme menace showed all the life, grace and malevolence of a cat hunting and dispatching a small rodent. The sets showed a distinctly darker side of the Hogwarts school. Gone were the open, moving staircases in favor of closer, more confined passages. Outdoor scenes generally had an air of gloom over them, even in board daylight.

As "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" ends, few viewers will miss the fact that the series has reached a turning point. The world of Harry Potter has taken on a markedly dangerous aura and death is now a very real fact of life. Rowling has been aging-up her books well with each passing volume, and Newell took her story and also made it a movie that is definitely not just for the younger viewers. And while readers of the books may nitpick the loss of details in the story, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" shows it is possible to take a work of literature onto the silver screen without loosing the essence of what made the original story great.

Questions? Comments? Contact the author at willhill2600@charter.net .