Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)June 7th, 2004
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the first of the three screen adaptations of J.K. Rowling's stories to feel like a film, instead of merely being a word-for-word rehash of the novels. Credit new director Alfonso Cuarón for the positive changes, beginning with his ability to whittle things out of the story, which was something Chris Columbus didn't have the stones to do. The books keep getting longer and longer, but Prisoner is shorter than the first two movies. The result is a snappier pace betrayed only by Rowling's faulty (and probably quite confusing, for the little kids) third act.
But that's one of the things that makes Prisoner so cool. It's darker, scarier, and there's more of a palpable sense of danger here than in The Sorcerer's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets. It's more adult (and that has nothing - aside from a wand joke or two - to do with the presence of Y tu mamá también's director), and seeing this series become gradually more sophisticated, along with its three stars, is a real treat.
Cuarón starts making changes right away, opting for an abbreviated opening shot with a handheld camera (the interior of Chez Dursley house could easily be mistaken for a Woody Allen film, circa 1986). After blowing up his Aunt Marge (Pam Ferris) like Violet Beauregarde, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) takes off for what looks to be a permanent break from his horrible guardians. He hops a mysterious three-tiered bus with Jar Jar Binks' head dangling from the rearview mirror and ends up in London, where he meets up with his two chums (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) and learns some disturbing news: A crazy wizard named Sirius Black has escaped from the inescapable Azkaban Prison and seems, for some reason, to want Harry dead.
Black (played frighteningly well by Gary Oldman, who is scary before he even appears in a scene) is the linchpin in Prisoner's story. Hogwarts is put on lockdown as if Professor Dumbledore himself had just slipped the Patriot Act through whatever the wizard world's version of Congress might be. Dementors (think Ring Wraiths from The Fellowship of the Ring) are sent to patrol the school, looking for signs of Black and sucking the essence out of anyone who gets in their way. And, of course, there are a couple of new teachers, played by Emma Thompson (Love Actually) and David Thewlis (Timeline), joining the already impressive ranks of Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and that guy who played Rupert on Survivor (Robbie Coltrane).
Prisoner features very little Quidditch, and remarkably little of the wonderful sounding Hogsmeade, though Cuarón does add small touches of charm here and there. A great deal of Prisoner takes place outdoors and for once doesn't appear to have been shot on a soundstage. The changes of season are marked by the violent outbursts of the Whomping Willow tree. For the first time, Hogwarts feels to be anything but a fancy prep school (albeit one for little witches and warlocks), as Cuarón shows us dank, crumbling walls, poorly lit hallways, and its students wearing the types of clothes you'd see in a typical middle school instead of stuffy uniforms. It 's all delectably shot by Michael Seresin, who may not be quite as dark as Emmanuel Lubezki but is still responsible for the gloomy photography in films like Angel Heart and Angela's Ashes.
Cuarón also does well setting up what I can only imagine is going to be the Luke-Leia-Han love triangle (and subsequent realization that Voldemort is really James Potter). But I've not read past Book Three, so I may not know what the hell I'm talking about. I do, however, know the third act of Prisoner's book bugged me when I read it, and the movie didn't do much to make me feel any better about it. I'd explain more, but it's all spoiler-related. It just seemed really false and particularly unbelievable. Other than that, though, Prisoner is a damn fine flick that improves noticeably on its two predecessors.
2:22 - PG for frightening moments, creature violence and mild language
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