Wow, and I didn't even LIKE the first two (***1/2)

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2004)

I was thoroughly lukewarm on the first two Harry Potter films, and though I was a little intrigued because this new installment was directed by Alfonso Cuaron ("Y Tu Mama Tambien"), I still wouldn't say I was looking FORWARD to it.
Boy, am I glad I went.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" is one of the most thrilling big-screen experiences I've had in quite a while.
Harry (a quickly maturing Daniel Radcliffe, and all the better actor for it) is now in his third year at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and has just received word that a dangerous murderer named Sirius Black (an enjoyably berserk Gary Oldman) has escaped from prison. Black was a friend of Harry's parents who betrayed them, leading to their deaths, and now he's after Harry.
That may sound like a pretty spare story, but it's all the movie needs. From beginning to end, it's one amazing, creative set-piece after another.

Maybe I just didn't notice before because I didn't really care for the films, but was Hogwarts School always this beautiful? The grounds of this school are absolutely breathtaking. I'd go to school there in a second.

Even though I was intrigued by Cuaron directing the film, I hadn't really expected his style (as opposed to the apple pie non-style of the previous director, Chris Columbus) to have an impact on such a mainstream, multi-million dollar commodity as a Harry Potter film, but I was thankfully wrong. In addition to the more whimsical and amazing visuals, Cuaron actually brings a lean and mean edge to the film. That's right, I said the new Harry Potter film actually has "edge". Not a whole lot, but certainly more than the previous films. The story moves quickly (even when it takes its time), it's genuinely exciting and sometimes scary, and what happens to the characters actually seems to MATTER.
There's also a rather brilliantly done time-travel twist near the end, which is actually what's responsible for me raising the star rating by half a star.
After this rip-roaring, exhilarant film, I'm actively looking forward to the next Harry Potter film, which has never happened before. At least I am if Cuaron's directing it.