Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Review
by Ryan Ellis (flickershows AT hotmail DOT com)June 21st, 2004
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
by Ryan Ellis
June 17, 2004
If star ratings mean anything, I've given all 3 'Harry Potter' movies the same grade---***. While I've enjoyed this series about a boy wizard and get a kick out of the world J.K. Rowling has created with her books, I still feel detached from the entire enterprise. Maybe you DO have to read the novels to really love the flicks. Then again, I haven't read a single syllable authored by J.R.R. Tolkien either, but the films of his 'LOTR' threepack are amazing and I'll be enjoying them for years to come. I'm more of a 'Star Wars' guy anyway, but I DO love the Hobbits almost as much as the Rebels. I guess I'm just not a Potterphile.
In 'Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban', Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, in his 3rd consecutive outing as the child wiz) and his best buddies (Ron and Hermione, played as always by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) are entering their 3rd year at the ol' haven for witchcraft, Hogwarts. Harry is struggling with adolescence. His fragile emotions are wrung out even more when he learns that a long-ago acquaintance of his dead parents, Sirious Black (the scraggly Gary Oldman), has escaped from the Azkaban pokey. Sirious was sent away for killing the Potterfamilias, so is Harry in mortal danger from someone other than Voldemort now? Harry's like Bart Simpson. He's only a kid, but he's already got 2 arch enemies. And we're off! Most of the other beloved characters are back, although Richard Harris' death opened up the role of Dumbledore for Michael Gambon (who plays it droll and mischievous). Everyone seems to be having a ball playing a part in this universe.
Hollywood doesn't really deserve to be slammed for its lack of imagination anymore because its become a town that doesn't usually aspire to be imaginative in the first place. One big round of applause should go to these 'Potter' films then, for taking the kids' fantasy genre almost to "we're not in Kansas anymore" heights. And despite the surprisingly mature themes, all family members can appreciate the Potterverse together. Are these movies strictly for kids? A friend of mine has refused to see any of them because he says it's just a big marketing campaign. It IS that, but we're supposed to concentrate on what's on screen---not the display tables at toy stores---when we're in the theatre. And the on-screen product is good. It's exciting. We discover strange new creatures, we renew acquaintances, arch our backs at the appearance of old rivals, and we get to see first-rate visual F/X that enhance the story, rather than the other way around.
Although Oldman, Gambon, Emma Thompson, and a few other adult thespians have received major press for their rather-limited participation here, they really are just glorified guest stars. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint own this movie and each one is blossoming into a capable actor. For all the talk of feminist movie characters, Hermione Granger is becoming THE tough-but-sweet go-to feminist. Watson is the unsung hero of this cast, just as Herminone is the unsung hero at Hogwarts. Perhaps that's all a credit to the female novelist, but the filmmakers have continually shown a balanced sense of how much to push Watson without zooming her right past Radcliffe. The threesome work best AS a threesome, though. No matter where books/films 4, 5, 6, up to infinity take us, it's satisfying that Ron & Hermione continue to be original characters who could exist in their own story, not just as sidekicks to Dirty Harry.
By the time we arrive at the time-travel climax and see all sorts of angles of one key development near a crazy limbs-akimbo tree, the 3 main characters have bonded further and learned some hard truths about overcoming fear. There's also a touching message about how some friends always remain loyal, even if it seems they've jumped to the ship o' villainy. These themes carry over nicely to the big screen. Steven Kloves is the screenwriter once again while Alfonso Cuaron takes over the directing ballcap from Chris Columbus (who stayed on to produce). Cuaron (director of the kid-not-friendly 'Y Tu Mama Tambien') has a gifted sense of story and movie magic. I think he tipped his hand with the paradoxical climax (I guessed correctly about who did what to whom), but he fits a lot of material into the film without jamming it to the gills. Columbus was accused of being too faithful to the first two books. Apparently, this one's more original.
You're damned either way (some fans want word-for-word, others want something different from what's in Rowling's immense novels), but I applaud Warner Brothers for allowing one of their cash cows to go in such dark directions. The harder edge begins early and it doesn't let up very often. Harry uses magic outside of school, which is a no-no, and puts an arrogant woman in big, fat danger to boot. Later, a bizarre, goodnatured beast called Buckbeak the hippogriff faces execution. Werewolfs of various shapes and dispositions appear on the scene at inopportune times. And we get several glimpses of the wicked dementors, the ghostly guards of Azkaban who are searching for Sirius Black. Death is discussed often in this movie and Harry & his friends must encounter many different kinds of grim reapers.
'Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban' will make dumptrucks full of money and audiences the world over are going to see this one more than once. As for me, one viewing of each film has been enough. I get the message and try to appreciate the metaphors. The F/X are not absolutely seamless, but fantasy films shouldn't try to pretend everything is real anyway. If you want verisimilitude, go rent some old Sam Fuller or John Cassevetes flicks. Then again, if you want state-of-the-art in modern movie magic, you rent or buy Peter Jackson's 'LOTR' tril. Enough comparisons, though. Harry is growing into a man now and he can stand on his own two feet...with or without magic. This is a rock-solid entry in the 'Harry Potter' brand. It didn't change my life, but it's a satisfying movie. I hold out hope they'll put something together to win me over completely to the vast world of young master Potter.
To work your magic on my Muggle butt, write to [email protected]. And check out my website at http://groups.msn.com/TheMovieFiend.
More on 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
