Film of the year! Best Potter film by a country mile!!!

Rating: 9/10 (5 June 2004)

With the latest installment, the producers have taken an extra year to produce it and made the inspired decision to put their faith in Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron. It was a brave decision however because although his last film Y Tu Mama Tambien was critically acclaimed, it was as far away from a kids fantasy film as you could get, in fact as some people described it, it was a Mexican porn movie. Now don't get me wronged I enjoyed the first two movies but despite all the money and special effects and sets, it did feel too conventional. Chris Columbus did a good job of introducing the Harry Potter universe but he did it simple. The film looked good but much like the Star Wars prequels it didn't get the blood pumping like a film with that scale has the potential too. The third installment really did work as a great movie going experience, I had sweaty palms by the half way stage and got really engrossed, what a great fantasy film should do.
So what has Cuaron done differently then? Well like everyone has said in very simple terms, he has made it much darker. He has also done away with following a set formula. There are no house cup prizes at the end for Griffendore to celebrate. There is a brief Quidditch match but this is given extra dynamic by being set in stormy, thundery, lashing rain with the evil creature the Dementors getting involved. The first two Potter movies almost ran on a similar timeline, in fact when I look back and try and remember parts I do get confused about some parts, whether they were in the first or the second movie. Cuaron's grittier, edgier take on Potter makes it far more exciting not to mention a more exciting storyline to begin with.
Harry Potter himself is growing up. He is far more self confident now and will not put up with the Dursley's tormenting. The Dursley's also seem aware and wary or Harry's powers. Harry becomes rebellious and strikes out at his abusive Aunt Marge played by Pam Ferris. When Harry runs away he is then picked up by a triple-decker bus that runs a special service for Wizards who have run away. He is taken to the minister of magic and it seem he may be in a whole heap of trouble because young Wizards cannot use magic outside of Hogwarts. He is merely given a warning but as it turns out there are more urgent matters for the Wizard and Witch community to worry about, the fact that an apparent cohort of Voldemort has escaped form Azkhaban prison. This person is Sirius Black played by Gary Oldman. Harry soon discovers that Black wad shopped his parents to Voldermort leading to his parents untimely deaths. Black's motives for escaping seem to be thus: He will finish the job that Voldermort didn't, kill Harry. Harry though doesn't wish to avoid Black because he becomes bent on revenge. He also has to contend with the guards of Azkhaban prison the dementors. a creation by Rowling and the Wizards at ILM. They really a great dynamic to the film and add some chills. The plot moves a long at a nice place and importantly the last hour is really exciting. Towards the end it is reminiscent of Back To The Future 2 and despite time travel paradoxes I really enjoyed that element.
Another important improvement in this was the primary cast. The three young actors played by Harry Potter, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. The have really improved, especially Daniel Radcliffe who as Harry has the most responsibility towards the film to do well. He was a little flat in the first two movies which is no disrespect to him because child actors are rarely 100% natural, we have just grown to expect a lot more form young kids after superb little thesps like Haley Joel Osment (AI, Sixth Sense) and Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider). Radcliffe is good here and holds the movie well, and more impressively is that his role is more challenging than it has been before. Emma Watson is very good, she looks like having the most potential, she is already a good actress and looks like she'll be a stunner when she's older. Grint is also good and does more than mug. An important element is that the film now gives more time to the three central actors because they now have increased their ability to hold the movie without having to fall back on the adult cast. As such the roles for the teaching staff are reduced but as ever Alan Rickman is brilliant as Snape, he has made that role his own. Then you have the usual great support from Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Richard Griffith et al. Also there are new appearances by Emma Thompson, and also Michael Gambon as the new Dumbledore. Gambon is good giving a different interpretation of Dumbledore although I kind of liked Harris and his more whispery and regal Dumbledore, but a lot of his quietness and frailty was because he was not at all well during the production of both previous films. Gambon will make a very good replacement though. The two new faces that really stood out for me were firstly Gary Oldman. He was excellent as Black. He essentially only appears in person near the end but as soon as he does Oldman decides that he will steal the thunder of all around him, no mean feat considering he shares a scene with both Rickman and David Thewlis. It is great to see Oldman back on the big screen. He is not playing a conventional bad guy, and you'll know what I mean when you see what transpires, but he is as ever superb. For me though the star role was David Thewlis as professor Lupin. Lupin was a former friend of Harry's parents and as such forms a bond with Harry and also teaches him how to defend himself against the Dementors. Thewlis is excellent, his character will be sorely missed as I don't believe he will re-appear in future films. It is a shame because in each of the sequels there have been characters who have been superbly played by the cream of British talent. Chamber of Secrets featured a scene stealing Kenneth Brannagh. This installment did have the best cast list and cameo list. Dawn French makes an amusing appearance (the day she is not amusing will not come soon) as does her husband Lenny Henry and also a re-appearance, albeit very brief for Julie Walters and Mark Williams as Ron's parents.
Cuaron does a great job. The camera is almost always in motion. This works very well with effects shots in the same way Peter Jackson used a lot of CGI shots in the Rings trilogy. By having the camera in motion while a CGI beast is there for example it means it gives less focus on the creature and as such will make it look more real. Cuaron also has some great and unsettling crane shots. Remember the super cool shots in David Fincher's Panic Room when the character moves down from floor to floor and carry's through into the kitchen, through a coffee pot and up to a key hole, with the aid of a computer of cause. These computer assisted crane shots look cool and there a few in this film. Not only is his use of the camera excellent but on a visual basis from the set to the cinematography the film makes far better use of its setting. It looks really great. The film is given a cold look. When it's not raining, it's dark and dingy and muggy or everything is covered in snow. The film looks superb, it makes good visuals from the last movie look better tenfold. Cuaron will certainly be sorely missed and there does seem like there will be an air of pessimism surrounding Mike Newell's appointment for next years Goblet of Fire. Now looking at Newell's track record there is little to suggest he will be a great choice to do a fantasy of this scale but having said that Cuaron raised eyebrows last year in much the same way. It is sadly a fact that a lot of British directors are very conventional and lack flair these days. I hope Newell will take a leaf from Cuaron's style book and surprise everyone, much like Cuaron himself has.
Overall this is the best and most enjoyable film I have seen this year and in a year of letdowns as far as the big blockbusters and epics. Kill Bill 2 has been the only film thus far of high anticipation not to be a letdown like overblown epics Last Samurai, Troy and Passion Of Christ has been. This was effective and affecting stuff. ****1/2