Visually stunning, but edited poorly

Rating: 8/10 (19 June 2004)

This movie is visually as stunning as anything I've seen in a long time. I'm excited to see it several more times, and I'm looking forward to Curon's handling of the next movie and more.
However, I think Azkaban has been edited poorly. There are several dropped threads and essential information that is simply dropped. If you are not a fan of the books and have not read them, you will be, unfortunately, very confused during Azkkaban. If you've read the books, you can follow the plot, but you will similarly miss several important aspects.
Dropped threads include: no explanation of who the makers of the Marauder's Map are, (so no explanation of why Harry's Patronus charm looks like a deer); Ron and Hermione's fights due to their pets is very minimal, although it is an essential aspect of the books. Lastly, Harry gets his Firebolt at the end of the movie, which seems a nice reward - but the book used this more as a plot device to push the relationships between the main three characters.
The changes aren't all bad, and Curon has certainly tried to make his own movie, instead of just following the books by chapter and verse. However, I'm hoping Curon has followed Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings format - I hope he has another half-hour on his cutting-room floor that he can release on DVD as an "extended" edition. This movie sorely needs it.