Superbus Totalus! THE Best adaptation of a Harry Potter book!

Rating: 10/10 (30 November 2007)

I consider myself quite a Potter-maniac. I have seen each of the films based on the novels over and over again and I consider this adaptation of 'Prisoner of Azkaban' to be THE Best! Everything about this film just brings the world of Harry Potter to life more vividly, more convincingly and more movingly - from the Knight Bus, the Dementors, the Marauder's Map, Shrieking Shack, Buckbeak, the Hippogriff and of course, the eponymous Prisoner of Azkaban Sirius Black, is brought to life so well that it's an unforgettable experience! Of course, I do personally think that 'Azkaban' as a novel itself is leaps and bounds better than the previous two novels Rowling wrote. Compared to 'Sorcerer's Stone' and 'Chamber of Secrets', 'Azkaban' inherently is so fast-paced, action-packed and thrilling that a movie based on it HAD to be good! How could it not?! And yet, this film exceeds expectations... Even the soundtrack for 'Azkaban' is way better and plentiful than in the previous 2 films. The Harry Potter theme given by John Williams, the theme with which this film opens, is one of my most favorite movie themes. I cannot praise John Williams enough for composing that theme... The moment you hear it, you're just transported to that magical world of Hogwarts and Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Hagrid and co! I don't think anyone could've composed a better theme to encapsulate the sheer magic of Harry Potter!
One of the things that they brought really well to life was the Marauder's Map - it was just so well done! I mean, even when you read the novel you have a fair enough mental picture of the map, but when you see it in the film, you're like, "Wow! Excellent!" The Dementors were appropriately creepy and scary - the train sequence again was superb! The Harry, Ron, Hermoine trio was very good - Daniel, Rupert and Emma have all done very well. Both Daniel and Emma are especially brilliant in the entire time-turning sequence. Emma Thompson as Sybil Trelawney was just adorable! Great choice! Gary Oldman is superb as Sirius Black! Lupin is one of those characters every Potter fan has a soft corner for and fortunately David Thewlis as Lupin is very good and very Lupin-ish :)
In all this is certainly my favorite adaptation of a HP novel. I had equal hopes from 'Goblet of Fire' and 'Order of the Phoenix' but was left quite disappointed. I just hope 'Half-blood Prince' is good... I wished Alfonso Cuaron directed one more Potter film. I wished they had given 'Half-blood Prince' to him instead of David Yates... For 'Deathly Hallows', they should have an online poll from fans about the choice of director and I really would not be surprised if most choose Alfanso Cuaron! Bless Cuaron and John Williams and Rowling and Harry Potter! The world is a better place 'cos of them!! Nox!