The Weakest of the First Three

Rating: Null/10 (7 March 2016)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
** (out of 4)
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts for his third year where he's befriended by a new professor but also must prepare for Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) who has escaped from prison.
I knew going into HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN that this was the shortest film of the first three in the series. I must say that this is also the weakest of the first three films and even though it had the shortest running time it seemed to drag on longer than the first two films combined. Technically everything here is on par with the previous films and that includes the cinematography, set and costume design, the score and the performances.
So, what's wrong with this film? I'm going to place the majority of the blame on director Alfonso Cuaron. Chris Columbus managed to bring the magical aspect of the books off the pages and onto the screen but that didn't happen here. In fact I thought the majority of the film was missing this magic and even worse is that it seems more comic relief was thrown in. The comedy was pretty bland throughout and especially during the opening thirty minutes or so where it was just trying too hard to be funny.
I also thought the story itself was pretty boring and at times it seemed to be all over the place. Perhaps had I been familiar with the books it would have played better? I'm not sure. I will say that the performances were once again quite good with Radcliffe, Richard Griffiths and the rest of the gang in fine form.