Great movie, full of magic and excitement but sort of lost the essence of Harry Potter ***spoilers***

Rating: 6/10 (26 July 2009)

The Harry Potter Series pulled off to a great start, with two amazing adaptations created by our very own, Chris Columbus. Then I heard about this film and I was quite excited to see it and also very keen that this instalment is going to be better than the two movies I've already seen... after watching this film, I thought it was absolutely brilliant, but it could have been better.
Many scenes were just too solid and dark. The new Dumbledore could have been casted better. His weirdness took hold off his warmth and calmness, which didn't give me a good impression on him.
However, on the upper side, the action, adventure and magic scored points for this movie. It was a whole new side for Harry Potter, it was very unique and exceeded my expectations.
The performances were top-notch, Oldman portrayed Black's character most splendidly and the talents just keep coming from Dan, Rup and Em!
On the other hand, compared to the book, many significant parts were just torn off, which was a displeasure, such as Ron meeting with Black in the dormitory.
And questions popped up as well (how did Sirius Black escape from Azkaban, why/how did Lupin end up as a werewolf, what happened to Pettigrew????? )
Though in summary, a fantastic movie, but sort of lost the feeling and essence of Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is still Number 1 and I would strongly admit that if Columbus was directing this, it would have been better.
******/**********
(6/10 stars)
~Kalendra