Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Year: 2004
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, David Thewlis

Synopsis:

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is beginning his third year at Hogwarts. Not only does he have a new Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher, Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), but convicted murderer, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison, and is headed for Harry Potter. Dementors surround the school, to protect Harry from Sirius Black, but will they do more harm than good?

Review:

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this movie. Alfonso Cuaron has made a much darker movie than Chris Columbus did with the first two. That isn't necessarily a bad thing... if you've read the books, you know how dark they are. However, after seeing the first two, I would have liked to see the series continued with a similar style. That having been said, I did like the movie, just as much as I like the books.

The characters are definitely growing and maturing from the characters in the first book (but then again, so are the actors).

Some people complain about too much of the information in the book is not included in the movie. I don't think this is the case. There are certainly some things that should have been included, but weren't, but whenever you make a book into a movie, some things have to be cut, changed, or added. Overall, I think the movie followed the book pretty closely. I think this movie is a good addition to the Harry Potter series, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Goblet of Fire next year.

My Rating:
8/10