Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Movie Review:


As Harry Potter (Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his third year, he learns that Sirius Black (Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison and his life is in danger. With the help of Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson), the three delve into mystery that surrounds Black’s imprisonment because all they know is that he had something to do with the death of Harry’s parents and he may be looking for him to finish the job.

With The Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone and The Chamber of Secrets setting new standards for family entertainment, can the third movie keep up this very high benchmark? The answer is an emphatic yes!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban pushes the franchise to even greater heights. Regarded as the best book in the series by Potter fans and Muggles alike, this is a much darker look into this magical world.

As Harry, Ron and Hermione turn thirteen, more adult problems and revelations come their way. Harry starts to learn more about his past, as he confronts the man who is said to have betrayed his parents to the wizard who’s name should not be spoken. Hermione has to come to terms with the fact that she might not been able to excel as much as she would like at Hogwarts without any magical help. Ron is Ron but he might have to acknowledge the fact that he might be getting close to a certain someone.

The character’s growth is reflected in the performances of the three leads. Emma Watson shines as Hermione, with a much larger part than in the second film. She is becoming a very good actress as the young witch continues to deal with her mixed heritage and the constant abuse from Malfroy. Rupert Grint again provides the laughs as Ron Weasley but the character is becoming a more accomplished figure and not just Harry’s accident prone and amusing friend. It is Daniel Radcliffe who shows the biggest advance and at last, reveals the reason why he got one of the most coveted child roles in movie history. As the character has grown, so has the actor as Radcliff as he finally gets to grips with the young wizard. Harry faces some really traumatic revelations about his past as the story unfolds leading to many different and powerful emotions. The good news is that the actor tackles them head on and gives his most authentic portrayal of the boy who lived yet.

Joining our three leads is the tremendous supporting cast, which again reads as a who’s who in British acting circles. While most of these roles are fleeting appearances from already established characters, such as Julie Walters and Mark Williams as Mr & Mrs Weasley, Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge and Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw as Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, they show they level of commitment to the stories shown by all of the actors. Even the bigger names like Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, Alan Rickman as Professor Snape and Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall take a backseat to the three leads and the new characters.

Both Gary Oldman and David Thewlis bring their substantial talents to the franchise and provide standout performances. Thewlis brings so much to the Professor Lupin, the new teacher of the Defence Against the Dark Arts as he becomes a mentor for Harry, all the while struggling with his own dark secret. Gary Oldman is also exceptional as Sirius Black. Even though the character doesn’t have much screen time, he comes into his own during the climatic moments of the film with Oldman portraying the man with such honesty and vigour. While the character might not be new the actor certainly is, Michael Gambon does a good job at putting his own spin on Professor Dumbledore. He doesn’t quite have the presence of the late great Richard Harris but he is a more than able replacement for the legendary actor.

Chris Columbus did a great job with the first two movies in the series but director Alfonso Cuarón moves the franchise to a whole new level. Cinematographer Michael Seresin and Cuarón combine to bring you the most magnificent looking spectacle that is the Potter universe. They really open up the sheer grandeur of Hogwarts and its surrounding grounds with some truly astounding sets and brilliantly chosen locations. Combine this with some of the best effects seen in the Potter films, such as Buckbeak the Hippogryff and the relentless Dementors, you have one of the most visual fantasy films ever to grace the silver screen. What Cuarón also brings to the table is a complete understanding of actors and performance and this is how he gets the best out of the three leads and the rest of the brilliant ensemble.

The Harry Potter movies set the standard when it comes to family entertainment and The Prisoner of Azkaban continues that tradition. What they have going for them is a plotline that treats audience of all ages with the same level of intelligence and never panders to one demographic. This makes the picture instantly accessible to all, making you wish that all family entertainment could be this good.

Now where did I put my wand?

Star Rating = * * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

And to think I once hated the whole Harry Potter phenomenon.

I hated how I couldn’t turn around without seeing something Potter-related. Mugs, t-shirts, soft drinks, posters, you name it. I made the pompous
mistake that most people make about Stephen King: popular equals bad.

Of course, I hadn’t read the books. I didn’t need to. It had to be bad; look at how many people love it. I then saw “Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets,” and murmured a five-star review about how it was one of the best children’s films ever made, hoping no one would notice the change of
heart, and not point out my pretentions (they did).

Now comes “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” the third film in the series. It comes with a new director, Alfonso Cuarón, the man behind the
infinitely different film “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” which was also about growing lads, but had more sex and booze than the Hogwarts rulebooks would allow. A
year has passed since the last film ended, and the kids have grown up a bit (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint being the leads). Soon
Harry will have to find out how to perform the magical art of shaving.

This is the darkest of the stories filmed so far, and has an altogether less jolly feel (but you already know that from all the other reviews). A prisoner of Azkaban prison, Sirius Black, has escaped and is looking for Harry (we find out that he was a spy for the villain of the series, Voldermort). With Harry gone, Voldermort can take over again, and that can’t be good, so Harry takes it upon himself to get Sirius before Sirius gets him.

There are, of course, twists in the tale that you’ll either know or will have to find out. I can say that, knowing the story, I was not disappointed: as always, the images on the screen did not match the ones in my head, but I didn’t care. The film is exhilarating, and stands up easily beside the first two.

And yet it’s… different. The whole film is just less colourful than the first two. Literally. There is an early shot in the Great Hall, and it looked almost sepia. Very young viewers will probably find it more
frightening than the earlier ones, what with those scary Dementors, who surround the school to protect it from Sirius Black, and will suck your soul
out if you get on their bad side. They look a bit like cousins of the Ring Wraiths from the “Lord of the Rings” films.

If you don’t know much about Harry Potter, you won’t have a clue what I’m talking about. I’d advise you to see the other movies first: you can watch
the second before the first, as I did, but I think you’d feel a smidgen confused by this one if you went in with a blank slate. Many characters
from the earlier films (Maggie Smith’s Jean Brodie-esque Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Dumbeldore, now played by Michael Gambon, who is given fortune-cookie-philosophy dialogue that he manages to sell with ease) are given less screen time, although Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) is still striding about, and, as nasty-but-fun characters go, he’s still up there with Hannibal Lecter.

To make up for it, however, a lot of new characters are introduced. Emma Thompson plays the eccentric Professor Trelawny, who teaches Divination (reading tea leaves, predicting deaths etc.), and Gary Oldman plays Sirius Black with a slightly manic edge. That invaluable British actor Timothy Spall also has a small part, and David Thewlis plays the new Dark Arts teacher, who has a few dark secrets himself. If there’s one thing these movies get right, it’s casting.

This film is, as I said before, tinged with a certain melancholy, right from the start. It has many moments of humour, certainly. My favourite was when the children had to defend themselves from the things they fear most by turning them into things that they laugh at, and seeing Alan Rickman in drag is a sight I will not quickly forget (to achieve this, by the way, you just flick your wand and say ‘ridikulus’). But there is also that Quidditch
match in the rain with the Dementors circling ominously overhead, and the werewolf, and the execution of the Hippogriff, which is a majestic creature somewhere between a horse and an eagle.

It’s also perhaps worth noting that this film is 142 minutes in length, which may seem quite long, but it’s actually the shortest of the films yet made, despite being based on the longest book. It’s tighter than the first too, and maybe just a little too tight. Cuarón gets in moments of wit, fun characters and even a sequence with a certain beauty to it (when Harry rides the Hippogriff), but perhaps it is just that little bit too story-driven. It unfolds as well as any great story, but when I am in Hogwarts, I don’t
like to be rushed along.

But I am nit-picking. The film is excellent, perhaps not as fun as the second one, but just as exciting. This film is definitely taking a slightly different path from the earlier ones, but that’s probably a blessing. I saw J.K. Rowling on television the other day saying how ‘this is Alfonso’s baby.’ Odd, for a writer to give her story totally to a director and let
him do with it what he pleases. I admire her for it; it means the stories are alive and evolving under different hands.

I love the way this series fills the whole canvas with details (just look at those portraits on the walls), and its ability to make even me, a cynical
teenager, believe in the characters. They fly off on broomsticks, and battle with wands, and get involved in a fight with a tree (yes, a tree)…
yet it never feels as ridiculous as it sounds.

****½ (out of 5)

Adam Whyte

You can tell from the opening moments that this third film is darker, edgier and more artful than its predecessors. What's even more surprising is that it's actually very good, with a compelling story, emotional depth and solid performances. So what's changed? Well, a proper director (Y Tu Mama Tambien's Cuaron) has taken the reins.

In his third year at Hogwarts, Harry (Radcliffe) is haunted by news that the man who betrayed his parents, Sirius Black (Oldman), has escaped from Azkaban prison. This threat taints his usual adventures at school with buddies Ron and Hermoine (Weasley and Watson). And as time ticks away, this heroic teen trio must draw on unknown strengths to get through it. They're helped (or hindered) by the school faculty: a new professor with a dark secret (Thewlis), the burly and put-upon Hagrid (Coltrane), the knowingly mischievous headmaster (Gambon), the sinister Snape (Rickman), the ditsy divinations teacher (Thompson) and so on.

Cuaron gets the tone exactly right. Unlike the over-lit, precious design of the first two films, he darkens and desaturates everything, combining a cheeky sense of humour with moments of strong comedy and real suspense. The magical world is much more offhanded--amazing things happen around the edges of the screen, but they're mere details that add to the story, not the main focus. And this lets the set pieces come to life much more vividly, from Harry's outrageous journey across London in the Knight Bus to his encounter with his ferocious Monster Book of Monsters. Even the Quiddich match is something different--here played in a raging thunderstorm while fearsome Azkaban guards prowl the clouds.

This shift puts characters more central and makes the plot more coherent. Cuaron discovers three excellent young actors in the central roles; nothing in the first two films suggested that Radcliffe, Grint and Watson could deliver such solid performances as they do here! There are some moments that take the breath away, most notable are the delicate scenes between Radcliffe and Thewlis. And the stellar supporting cast also find untapped shadings in their characters.

An emphasis on character and story over gimmicks also gives the animals and computer generated characters much more life and personality. Harry's owl Hedwig and especially Hagrid's doomed hippogriff Buckbeak actually have authentic emotional life. Meanwhile, the settings are reimagined in service of the story--from the crumbling edges of Hogwarts to a general messiness in hair and costumes, all of which adds texture and mood. This is not only funnier, more imaginative, more exciting, sexier and scarier than the previous two Harry Potter films, it's one of the best kids' movies of the year.

Rich Cline

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