Poster art for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

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Avg. Critic Score: 81 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    The best one yet. Read full review

  • 90
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    It's not until Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that a film has successfully re-created the sense of stirring magical adventure and engaged, edge-of-your-seat excitement that has made the books such an international phenomenon. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Last year's "The Prisoner of Azkaban" seemed dark, but this excellent fourth film derived from J.K. Rowling's books is the darkest "Potter" yet, intense enough to warrant a PG-13 rating. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The film is more violent, less cute than the others, but the action is not the mindless destruction of a video game; it has purpose, shape and style. Read full review

  • 80
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Probably the most engaging Potter film of the series thus far. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    His (Ralph Fiennes) Voldemort may be the greatest screen performance ever delivered without the benefit of a nose; certainly it's a performance of sublime villainy. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    With the cast getting looser and the mind games kinkier, it's hard to resist. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    Offers a brew of wondrous chimera combined with the wonders of human nature. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    It's hard to beat the last movie, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and this film is not better, but it has much to recommend it. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Kids may be appropriately terrified, but to this overgrown Potter fan, Voldemort, the Darth Vader of the black arts, was a heck of a lot scarier when you couldn't see him. Read full review

View more reviews for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Excellent, but the PG-13 is accurate.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this film has two deaths (including a really sad one), scary creatures, some romantic yearnings, and edge-of-the-seat scenes. With each film the scariness quotient increases. This movie features fighting dragons, tortured bugs, a scary huge maze, and an underwater horror show. Young kids who don't understand the difference between fantasy and reality should stay clear. So should kids going through an anxious time about unnamed terrors or unwanted separations, as one of the death scenes is upsetting. The action is sometimes rowdy, and camera movements/edits are aggressive, all of which increase the scary effects. One of the deleted scenes featured on the DVD shows teen couples after the Yule Ball getting caught kissing, etc., in carriages -- it's a little more sexual content than you get in the feature film.
  • Families can talk about the film's more mature content and who this movie is targeted to. Young kids are going to want to see this -- should the movie have been toned down or is the violent content appropriate given the age of the characters?
  • For kids who read the book, which plot points got left out that you missed? Why do you think they left out the house elves? What role did they serve in the books?
  • Cheating is rampant among the teachers and judges involved in the Triwizard competition, but not among the competitors. Why do you think this is?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: It's a good and evil story ... no surprises here. Friendship, love, bravery, and loyalty are always major themes in the series. So is the idea of making good choices.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Diverse cast and strong female characters.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Two deaths, including one very stirring death of a teen. No blood is shown, but lifeless bodies are. Children are in peril, often at the hands of magical creatures: dragons burn, chase, and cut Triwizard competitors; mermaids brandish spears as students are held captive underwater. A spider is tortured in a class demonstration. A hand is severed and sacrificed, and Harry is tortured by a curse, writhing in pain.
  • sex false2 Sex: Some references to 14-year-olds' sexual interest; Harry is accosted in the bathtub by a ghostly girl; some couples kiss in the shadows after the Yule Ball.
  • language false1 Language: "Bloody hell," "piss off," and similar words.
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: While the candy mentioned wasn't originally real, it is now: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Slugs, and more. And then there are the action figures, Lego playsets, wands, Band Aids... you name it.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Madame Maxime's horses only drink single-malt whiskey. Students drink butterbeer -- a magical-world drink with a pinch of alcohol.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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