Easily the best one yet

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2004)

For the first time I was actually entertained watching a Harry Potter film rather than just impressed. The first two films in the series were certainly watchable but fatally flawed by their slavish devotion to the books on which they were based. By trying to exactly replicate the novels, rather than be allowed to exist as movies, the first 2 were suffocated - not allowed to 'breath' as it were - and ended up coming across as merely mechanical exercises rather than entertainment in their own right.
"Prisoner of Azkaban" is the first time that a Harry Potter film exists for it's own sake rather than as a copy of the book. Screenwriter Steve Kloves and new director Alfonso Cuaron are clearly not afraid to alienate the 'fans' who can't stand even the slightest deviation. Here, the story is compressed and details altered in order to make for a better film. By treating the story as a film rather than an adapted novel, the film is allowed to live. Scenes flow rather than feeling forced.
The acting is uniformly strong, the cast once again made up of Britain best thespians and strong child (now adolecent) actors.
The effects are the best yet, owing as much to advances in technology as to their unobtrusive uses here. Often, effects are 'thrown away' in the background or to the side, rather than highlighted front and center.
At times, the story may be too compressed for the uninitiated, but, speaking as a casual Potter fan, I highly enjoyed this film and look forward to the next provided this is the direction they are headed.