Where's the magic?

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2004)

I went to a movie last night, although, I'm not quite sure which one. I THOUGHT I was going to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but I saw a jumbled mess of teen with a hint of a wand. The actors did a superb job with what they were given, but if you start a series, you must follow the format and see it through to the end. This had none of the magical feeling upon arriving at Hogwarts. Dumbledore seemed like he was comic relief, instead of the wise and fatherly figure he had been. The scenes that were there, half of THOSE could have been omitted to allow the actual story to appear. I agree with an earlier reader that it would have been interesting to see the Christmas gift broomstick instead of the end. There was absolutely no connection between the first set of movies and these, it felt as though I was not watching Harry Potter at all. Snape was not at all important in the movie. He didn't even accuse Harry of letting Black go free. There was no outstanding revelation as there had been in the first two. And I missed seeing the ride home on the train.
I feel that if they were to remake this movie next year, I would go see it, only if they could stick to the story. I understand that it will not be page by page the same, but the story is completely different and too many details are just forgotten. The clothing change is unacceptable and the marauders map is not even explained, nor is the broomstick related as the 13 years of missed birthday gifts. Overall I give this movie a 6 of 10, more for the actors part than anything else.