Great book ruthlessly slashed by movie adaptation

Rating: 7/10 (20 June 2004)

I am a very big fan of the HP books, and I greatly enjoyed the first 2 movies because they were so close to the source. However, 'Azkaban', the screenwriter and director chose to remove HUGE chunks of the plot, which rendered much of the movie unclear to anyone who has not read the book. They also chose to insert some much unneeded slapstick (Harry gets plastered on bus window, Hermione gets flung by tree) instead of the far superior humor already provided by JKR. I would have happily lost all the 'new material' to get back the scene where Ron and Harry are working on their Trellawny homework. I know filmmakers are trying to put their own touch on the movie, but this is not the place to get creative.