Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Paul Martin, 4 June 2004

Tonight, I saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I went with Beth, Julie, Erin, April, Joe, and Scott to the 12:01am screening. Seeing the movie with them was awesome, and a highly enjoyable time. Very fun. I'd love to hang out with them again, because it was good company.

As for the movie, Alfonso Cuaron and John Williams have crafted works of art. The film moves at a steady, even pace, not focusing too highly on things that have already been covered in the previous two films. Namely Quidditch. While fun to watch, it's been done twice before, and this time was used as a plot device, rather than exposition.

According to my film-going companions, they left out a few explanations. One being the deer form, and the other being how the professor knew how to use the map. Being the shortest of the three films, I'm sure they had room to put both explanations in, but decided that pacing and other things were more important to the story on film.

The movie moves very quickly when it needs to, and the slower scenes are just long enough to get the point across, to move on. They give just enough clues and early foreshadowing that it makes you wonder about some things. Having not read any of the books, so far, this is my favorite of the film series.

Michael Gambon fills the shoes of Dumbledore very well. Now he seems more like the mischievious Dumbledore as written (so I am told) and not as much like the fragile Dumbledore of the previous two films. That's too bad in a way, it takes away some of the care and kindness of the character.

Gary Oldman gives a great performance as Sirius Black, who is quite possibly my favorite new character of the series. What's in store for him in book four, I do not know, save for what happens in book five.

The Dementors were really frightening remixes of the Nazgul of the Lord of the Rings. At least in appearence only. What they do, however is totally different, and really something. The guards of Azkaban Prison, they float around, and are incredibly powerful.

The style of the film was very dark. The films, like the books, are getting progressively darker in tone. This is most welcome, as it keeps the story from becoming a parody of itself by the end. It makes things scarier and darker.

John Williams' score fit perfectly with the movie and I feel was better heard in the movie, than on CD. But that's only based on the time I listened to the score when it was available online for a free listen a few weeks ago.

This is a genuinely fun movie, and it held my interest from beginning to end. The credits are really well made also.

9.5/10