With the recent announcement of "Pottermore" it seems a little silly for me to post a review because no one interested in Harry Potter is going to be here, they're all going to be speculating on what Pottermore is (which, after the announcement is still kind of unclear - seems like an online book/game combination and there's supposed to be user-generated content, but I'm unclear as to what that will be. Ah well, we'll see in October I suppose, or on July 31st). Nevertheless, here is my review of the third HP book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Enjoy and leave a comment to say whether you loved or hated the thing!
Brief:
Prisoner of Azkaban is one of the best books in the Harry Potter series. It centers around Sirius Black who has escaped the Wizard prison Azkaban. This throws the whole Wizarding world into a state of fear and apprehension, especially as many (including the minister) believe that he is after Harry Potter. During this year Harry learns more about himself, the connection between him and his parents, and their connection to Sirius Black. The plot is much less predictable and straightforward than the last two volumes, and although the movie is quite accurate reading the book will help you understand and fully appreciate the inventive magical plot twist at the end.
The world becomes perceptibly darker in this book. It is a book about friendship and betrayal. It is a story about the dark secrets that many of the characters are hiding. Some seriously cool magic is introduced with the help of some new classes at Hogwarts, and a defence teacher who knows his stuff.
At this point the series evolves beyond just a children's series and the movie adaptation captures this beautifully. This is the first time noticeable changes were made to the storyline, but the new director (Alfonso Cuaron) knows what he is doing. The changes do not harm the integrity of the storyline at all, they simply serve to make it cooler and add a more cinematic feel to it. There is an amazing attention to detail and the magic behind the stories becomes, again, very visible in the movie.
I consider this the best of the Harry Potter movie adaptations that I have seen so far. It is based one of the best books and does an excellent job of portraying it. I would highly recommend both the book and the movie; they both receive the highest rating on the world-building meter.
SPOILER ALERT!
Movie Regrets:
Very few movie regrets this time. The main one is that it left me wanting more! I didn't believe that it was over the first time I saw it, because it ended it in a different way than the book and because I did not want the amazing experience to really be over.
The "He was their friend!" scene makes me cringe every time. I think it could have worked, could even have been great, in the hands of a different actor. It became clear to me, however, that minus the cute-factor Daniel Radcliffe really wasn't that great of an actor.
What happened to Flitwick? I'm still not sure if he had a makeover or if the teacher that conducts the singing students is supposed to be him, either way, I'd love an explanation for why this happened…
I've kind of gotten over it, but the Dementors are very different from what I imagined when reading the books. I imagined them much more similar to the nine ring wraiths or the Voldemort Harry meets sucking Unicorn blood in the woods in the first movie.
Movie Bonuses:
This movie did some really interesting things with music and with the natural setting. There were some little scenes in the Hogwarts grounds or near the Whomping willow that helped set the mood and created some foreshadowing.
I am also a fan of the song that is sung at the beginning, which I'm pretty sure is lifted from the three witches in Macbeth, and the way that it is used with the dark atmosphere and the carriages arriving at Hogwarts.
The Knight bus was amazing. I also really liked the shrunken heads (which are canon, by the way). The Boggart-Snape scene and the scene where Hermione punches Malfoy were excellently done as well.
World-Building Meter:
Both the book and movie score the highest rating on the world-building meter. The world is vivid and rich with news spells, new people, new kinds of danger, and new Hogwarts classes. It has a mood and a flavour of its own, a darker and more mature one than the previous two instalments. And unlike some of the other Harry Potter movies the Prisoner of Azkaban movie does an excellent job of keeping the magic in the Harry Potter universe. Everywhere you look in the movie there are unmistakeable signs of magic.
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