The pendulum swings the other way - Columbus tried to cram too much in, whereas Cuaron cuts too much out.

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2004)

The story: Harry Potter has returned to Hogwarts for his third year. However this year won't be all fun and games. A convicted murderer and supposed supporter of You-Know-Who called Sirius Black has escaped the wizard prison of Azkaban and is on the loose, supposedly to hunt down Harry and take revenge. As a result the mysterious Dementors, the wraith-like guards of Azkaban have been stationed at Hogwarts to look for Black and protect the students. But that is only the beginning
Is this film better than the previous two or worse? I think it is neither  but rather a completely different attempt at translating the 3rd Harry Potter novel to the big screen. Director Alfonso Cuaron has gone for a very different type of setting  gone is the cheery comfort of the first two films and in its place we have a somewhat more threatening, scary and mature look.
Many changes have been undertaken, most notably in the layout of Hogwarts which looks as though a mountain has grown up underneath it. Hagrid's hut is now located down the bottom of the hill (as opposed to being just out the front door as it appeared previously). Similarly the Whomping Willow (seen in the 2nd film) is now out by itself on the hillside and not in the middle of Hogwarts back lawn. Inside has also changed  the Fat Lady looks completely different and the Gryffindor quarters are in a new location. Also Hogwarts now has a clock tower, whose pendulum swings inside one of the hallways (a bit dangerous  what if a kid walked into it?). The end result is that Hogwarts no longer looks as welcome-like as well saw previously, instead appearing somewhat more cold, gritty and down-to-earth, in line with the overall feel of the storyline.
How about the storyline? It should be known by now to all who have read the books that Cuaron did some major cutting of the novel, stating that he would only keep parts that actually had to do with the main storyline. As a result there's a lot of things missing  the Quidditch Cup sub-plot has been abandoned entirely, and the only Quidditch we see in the movie is the scene where the Dementors decide to pay a visit. Similarly the feud between Ron and Hermione appears to have been left on the cutting room floor save for one or two quick comments from the actors. The most notable cut of all is the lack of explanation on the Marauder's Map and the identities of its creators. Even parts that were left in have been altered considerably  Hermione now speaks about half of Ron's lines, leaving Ron with little to do but crack jokes and look scared. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, becomes a sort of guide for Harry but the film curiously has nearly all the information regarding Lupin's relationship with Harry's father James cut and in what little time they have together Lupin instead talks about Harry's mother Lily (certainly not in the book). Only the end seems to have been more-or-less left alone, although again dialogue has been cut short and a bit more action thrown in instead (such as Hermione and Harry running from the werewolf).
So how does it fare overall? I have to admit I'm hard to please when it comes to the Harry Potter films  I felt that the first two probably followed the books *too* closely and probably should have trimmed them up a bit, whereas this time they've cut too much when they should have kept more of the story present. I do believe Cuaron has done well with the way the film looks compared to Columbus's previous efforts, though again I have to ask why Hogwarts suddenly needed to be rearranged after being the same in the earlier films?
All in all I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but it's not a scratch on the novel on which it is based (regarded by many as probably the best of the Harry Potter books so far), and I'm glad that Cuaron will not be directing the next film. I understand his decision on why he cut so much from the story but the end result is the film seemingly jumps from scene to scene with a somewhat lack of flow in the story until the last hour or so (unsurprising since the end of the film has the least cut out of it). Also while many parts of the novel might not relate to the main overall plot, it's those parts that help add character and style to the story (eg. Hermione's and Ron's ongoing feud helps with the development of their characters and their relationship with each other) which in its absence makes the story seem much blander as a result  we're seeing the individual pictures but not the full richness of the tapestry
I give it 3.5 out of 5. Hopefully Mike Newell will aim somewhere in between Columbus and Cuaron when he does Goblet of Fire  not cramming in every little detail into the film but at the same time not ripping all the novel's guts out and leaving only the barest of details.