Darker And More Grown Up

Rating: Null/10 (3 June 2004)

Harry potter returns to our screens in the magnificent "Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban". Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison, and is heading towards Hogwarts... Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint reprise their roles of Harry, Hermione and Ron. Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith continue as Severus Snape, Rubius Hagrid and Professor McGonnagall. Sadly, Micheal Gambon replaces the late Richard Harris in the role of the wise old headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Newcomers to the movie include Emma Thompson as Divinations teacher Professor Trelawney, and David Thewlis as Proffessor Remus Lupin.
With new director Alfonsó Caurón behind the helm, what we have here, is a faster and much darker movie, light years ahead of the child like magic weaved into the first two movies by Chris Columbus. The third movie is all about trust, friendship and love, with harry learning the truth about his parents, and discovering you cannot always trust the people you think you know.
The special effects, were as usual, top notch, with extra marks being given for the delightful "Hippogriff" (as a fan of the books, it was just as i imagined it). There are some genuine tense moments, which some younger viewers of the series, may find a little frightening (The Dementors and the prescence of a werewolf).
The young actors and actresses of this movie have put on a magnificent performance. Emma Watson is blossoming as an actress, and her portrayal of Hermione is a lot more sincere and believable. Rupert Grint continues to play Ron, and very well, catching Weasly's clumsiness and slight stupidity rather well. Daniel Radcliffe got the chance to show how emotional these characters can get, and gives a truly emotional performance (ok, thats a little much, but it was still v.good).
There are some amusing moments, in particular the scene with the students tackling a boggart in a defence against the dark arts lesson (readers of the book will know what I'm talking about - newcomers can wait and be surprised), and the scene with the Knight Bus. Dawn French makes a wonderful Cameo as The portrait of the fat lady.
The only snag i have about the movie, is the ending, which is completely different to the novel. I know movie makers cannot stick to the book page by page, but these little plot difference will play on the minds of the readers. IF you are seeing it fresh without reading the book, "Prisoner of Azkaban" is a truly magical movie, and a fine addition to this movie series.
**** out of 5 stars.