Left wanting more...

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2004)

Grrr... I LOVE the artistic vision!!!!!! For the first time the wizarding world of JK Rowling appears truly bizarre and bohemian and wonderful and its all great!!!! I love Cuaron's choices and interpretations and felt that they were very appropriate given the wizarding world is supposed to be as far away from normal as possible. I am totally willing to be contented with his vision... But after two viewings of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban I'm left without also hearing the things I love, and need to hear. Rowling has a very gifted way of telling us her character's messages: messages that guide the reader in a very gentle and acceptable way. These messages were present in the first two movies, but it feels like they are ignored this time around.
Nonetheless, you NEED to see the unique world this installment has to offer.
The actors are FINALLY able to breath life into their roles and the resulting characters get to embrace their existence every once in a while. But...GRRRRR.... if you are a fan of the novel series you may agree that the plot needs some room to allow the classic spirit of the text to let itself be recognized. If the style of Chris Columbus was loyal but too limited, than Cuaron may have ignored one element too many. This doesn't mean that the foundation offered by Columbus and the flourishes offered by Cuaron can't be reconciled. The key lies in a choice to pursue boldly to paint a beautiful new portrait and at the same time knowing when it is absolutely necessary to SURRENDER to the text.
Although text and film are very different mediums of art, there is some wisdom to playing it safe and sticking to the original version of events in a plot. Go the other way and you risk loosing the elements that make a story a great one.