They're starting to get it right

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2004)

The third film of the Harry potter saga is by far the best yet, but still wasn't quite there. But then could did anyone really expect them to get it a perfect this time? Third time may be a charm, but no director could completely save this series in one film. But Alfonso Cuarón has obviously put the Harry potter franchise back on track. There are still some bugs that need fixing, like the fact that the whole film seems incredibly rushed. Yet, how is one to avoid that? Especially when the books keep getting longer and longer. The rushing also lead to a good bit of plot cuts, most which are understandable, though a few were unwisely made. But looking at it with a movie makers eye and not a book fans, you can be amazed at what Mr. Cuarón has done. He has finally established a solid feel for the films. Unlike Chris Columbus who just presented the material but didn't put any true artistic vision into it. The first to the stuff just kinda happened. In the third you can get a sense of more complex things happening than what you see on the screen and start to get a sense of emotion from the characters. It was nice to see the characters, especially the children, being there characters. In the first two films it was extremely obvious that these kids were acting, a problem that is still in the third at parts, but is improving immensely. The performances of the adults are improving too. All except Robbie Coltrane's, he seems to be turning the character of Hagrid into more of a caricature than a person. Michael Gambon does a wonderful job filling Richard Harrison's shoes as Albus Dumbledore. Although he doesn't keep the same sort a persona about him, his version of the character is much more enjoyable and, in my opinion, much more true to the book. David Thewlis does a splendid job portraying Professor Lupin. Although he does not look the part, he does a wonderful job playing it, giving Lupin the emotional feel I always imaged. He also does a great job setting a solid relationship between himself and Harry. A very master and apprentice feel is giving between them which, although it is not the kind of relationship you find between people is there situation, works very effectively. I would also like to note the great change in the music. John Williams new score contributes to the film much more than in the previous two. Very rarely do you hear the original theme he wrote that sounded more like clown music than anything else. Instead you here a wonderful score with a much more unique feel and seems to be played by more of a small chamber ensemble rather than a huge orchestra. All in all it is a much better film that actually makes you wait to see what happens next.