It is Mike Newell that takes over the directing chair in this forth installment in the massively popular Harry Potter series. With three very well made movies already released it must have been a challenging task to try and do the same yet again. Another thing to mention is that while the previous three books where not enormous, the forth was quite a bit longer which makes the task even harder.
Steve Kloves is again responsible for the screenplay and it is a challenging task he has. I was fairly satisfied and all the most important facts and information has reached the movie, but with such a large book it is impossible to get everything into the film. Directing wise I felt as though the movie did not have the same seamless flow as the previous ones and especially Prisoner of Azkaban. The story jumps to fast between important scenes that left me with a feeling that important plot elements where not explained or explored enough.
Acting is also slightly worse than the previous movie, but not by much. The acting team still work great together. The problem is that there are to many characters that need time on screen leaving not enough time for the main cast to evolve throughout the school year/movie. I was pleasantly surprised by Brendan Gleeson in his role as Professor Alastor 'MadEye' Moody.
Patric Doyle takes over as "music man" and works further with John Williams' previous themes. He does a decent job, but I think that John Williams would have done it better. Special effects are as always amazing and fantastic to watch. I really liked the dragons and the underwater fish people. Voldemort looked terrifying, but his 'birth' animation was a tad cheesy.
Overall Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a worthy addition to the series. It does not have all the qualities of its predecessors, but it is still a highly entertaining movie. The acting is good and the effects and landscapes look beautiful. However the flow of the movie is a bit choppy and the story unfolds to fast without proper depth. My overall score is 7/10