harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban (pg) review

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Average Ratings

Value for Money	6.5/10
Overall rating	6.4/10

63% Recommended10 out of 16 Reviews

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By pasqualt3 on 7th Jun 2004

pasqualt3's Ratings

Starring Actor/Actress	Daniel Radcliff
Where Did You See It?	Cinema
Value for money	8/10
Overall value	7/10
pasqualt3's recommendation

Good Points

The actors have all grown into their roles and it really shows in their chemistry. Also the film kept more true to the book than previous movies.

Bad Points

So much of the book was included it was nearly a summary of events and not a movie at all. It was rushed and no characters were given enough time to talk or create any mystery.

General Comments

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban is a fast pace depiction of the book of the same name. It continues the tale of Harry and his friends through mystery of how he became a legend and the truth behind the death of his parents. New characters include professor Lupin, the newest defence against the dark arts teacher, and Professor Sybil Trelawney. Lupin is a pivotal part of the story and a welcomed addition to the movie. Trelawney in hated in the movie and really besides one scene adds nothing to the film. In short this film was suppose to be about Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban prison in hopes to seek revenge for his imprisonment. This in fact was nearly completely overlooked in the film as Sirus was given nearly 20 minutes of air time. In reality the film plays out how powerful Harry and Hermione have become and how we all want a Hippogriph as a pet.

While I'd like to keep in mind this is a children's movie I can't help but realize that the fans that pay to see it are far more mature and deserve a movie that reflect the complexities of the book and not one that's fun for the kids. Remember when your favourite band got too famous for their own good and people started calling them a sell-out? That's kind of what the new director did to Harry Potter. The one thing I most missed in this film, was the long and detailed complications that the first two movies took the time to spell out. Oh sure the first two could drag a bit but this one flew by so fast I never had time to be drawn into the new characters or even the intense sequences. I was told by all to read this book as I was thoroughly lost during the 2nd film. So I took the time to read it and really enjoyed most of it. I realized that even in the book the 1st half was rather boring but it set up issues Hermione had with getting to classes and the problem with Crookshank and Scabblers. And the scene with Peter Pettigrew was intense in the book and totally over looked in the movie.

The whole thing was so rushed even the actors seemed like they were told "we've got to film this while you're still young" and he wasn't joking cause boy they have grown up quick. And I've heard that this one was closest to the book but I just wished things like Dursley's house were completely removed in favour of the real issues in the movie. Like the history of the Marauders' map or Harry's image's of his parent's and how they haunted him during the dementor's attacks. Instead there was Malfoy blowing a paper crane or Harry flying over the castle on a Hippogriph, the nightbus, the monster book? Really I didn't get the same feeling in this film as the rest I just wish more time was put into plot development. But also there may just be the point why people hate movies that were books. Too much is left out and it doesn't tell the whole story. I've heard though that this was the most honest translation yet, but that's why it's a sell-out too. They crammed so much of the wrong parts into the movie that it lacked all the depth.

Total Respect: +1