Movie Reviews
Taking hold of the reigns for this one isn’t Chris Columbus, director of the first two, but Alfonso Cuaron who reluctantly read the screenplay, but ended up loving it. And thus, the great Alfonso has fastened his seatbelt for what is a wild, imaginative, and extremely entertaining third rung on the ladder of seven. Get ready, because this is the best of the three.
I give a warning because of heightened darkness and luridness of the film. I was surprised to see how this new line up of crew didn’t really care that their main audience was child-based. I guess I should say pleasantly surprised because this is such a great film. But, for all you readers out there, don’t act like you’re surprised because this is exactly how the books are.
One thing I loved so much about the film is Cuaron’s incredible artistry. Columbus, of the first films, was good at the storytelling, but this new director has a better way of telling that story. With a new director and cinematographer (and costume designer) come a new way of capturing and new things to capture. The first two films were very close to the books. “The Prisoner of Azkaban” focuses more on a certain element or characteristic of Harry and then leaves out as much as possible basically for time restrictions. And I found it interesting that even though the third book is much longer than the first and second, the film is about as long, but in the editing room, the filmmakers left out nothing.
Yes, there are pros and cons to this. I liked how this followed Harry. It showed him maturing in more ways than one. He’s of course, physically getting older, but he finally understands that he can’t be messed with anymore. His abilities as a wizard are beyond anything that Hogwarts has ever seen, even more than his father, which “is saying something”, according to Professor Lupin. However, I watched the film with one of the many avid readers of the books, and she was incredibly disappointed in the material that was left out.
The great thing about all the “Harry Potter” films--not just this one--is that Harry, although he is the main character, is not the only thing that holds our attention. I love all of the eccentricities of characters like Professor Snape and Hagrid, who add some of the wonderful elements to the story. The argument for this, I guess, is that even though it is called “Harry Potter”, we aren’t watching a film (or reading a book) solely about Mr. Potter. And that is what is so excellent about this series.
This being the third installment of the seven tells the story of Sirius Black, a known supporter of the Dark Lord Voldemort and criminal convicted with the murder of 13 people, who has escaped the seemingly inescapable Azkaban Prison. He is thought to be looking for Harry to kill him as well. Now the dreaded Dementors, guards of Azkaban, are searching far and wide for the criminally connected wizard. The story also deals with Harry, and his faithful friends as they go through the stages of adolescence and try to cope with the insecurities of that part of life...especially as young wizards and witches.
As I said before Cuaron’s creative genius is easily seen in this one. You may notice that the takes are longer than in the first two, mainly because Columbus knew that these were inexperienced actors in the early stages. I’m glad that Cuaron now has the will to at least try this new thing. It not only made for better, sweeping shots, but it heightened the skill of the young actors. They give the best performance of any of the films so far.
Becoming an instant classic that will be viewed again and again over the ages, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” is an exhilarating experience from beginning to end, with sophisticated plotlines and ways of telling those plots around every corner. I consider it to be the greatest of the “Potter” franchise thus far, and also to be one of the best films of the year as well. ****