Yep, they're back again

Rating: 6/10 (22 June 2004)

Harry Potters third adventure is darker and grimmer than the first two (probably mainly because of it's new director), but that doesn't necessarily make it better... or worse, for that matter.
First shots of the movie are a nice touch, as it's shot from the hand, and it shows us the movie's gonna be a bit more for the elder, as there's a foul-mouthed auntie who's getting blown up by Harry, before he leaves the house of his uncle Vernon, for good as it seems this time.
He leaves for Hogwarts where the place is garded by Dementors as known killer Sirius Black (who reportedly betrayed Harry's mom and dad to Him That Shall Not Be Named (or whatever)) has escaped the infamous Azkaban (probably named after Alcatraz?), who's out to get Harry as well.
Harry gets help from his old pals Ron and Hermione as well as new teacher Lupin to fight of the danger, but things aren't as they first appear (as you would expect).
Before we go any further, I'd like to state I haven't read the books of Rowling, so I don't care if Hagrids hut is further from the castle than it should, and things like that. So if Cuaron thinks he should do it this way, it doesn't mean it's better or worse the way Columbus did it, it's just different.
Having said that, I like the athmosphere of this movie better than the first two. Maybe because it is aimed at a bit older public (I'm 25 right now), it was a bit more exciting and scary. In fact, the Dutch certification for this movie was 9 years and older, a certification never used before. No kids stuff, for sure.
The actors themselves look and act older as well. Harry looks a bit tougher and Ron has his eyes set out for Hermione, and I think many 15 year olds in the audience can't really blame him.
So we have grimmer athmosphere, a more mature cast for a more mature audience, what about the story?
Too bad it is exactly here the movie goes wrong. The story has it's dull moments (with 141 minutes, this really is too long people!) and flies all over the place, with some characters with too little screen time (Hagrid, Dumbledore, but more importantly, Draco) and others with too much (Hermione in particular). The 'surprise meeting' in the (ehm, forgot how the place was called), well, you know, when they're pulled underneath the tree was really silly, and the worst thing still had to come.
I'm talking, of course, about the 'going back in time' incident. Why oh why do they keep on doing this. It's like that old Superman joke: why doesn't Superman ALWAYS fly around the earth so that he can undo ALL evil. I had the same with (I think) the 8th Startrek movie, where the crew goes back in time to stop those who already went back. When they're stopped, why don't they try it again, or at another point. If you have this ability to travel through time, why not use it all the time?
The same things happens here. By going back in time, Harry and Hermione save the innocent, as they say. Well, if they know how to do that (and it looked really easy), why not save Harry's parents then? Why not use it for more important things than simply being able to catch more classes?
It's a bit of a let-down, how this ended, and I'm sure it's the same in the book, but having not read them I can only judge the movie and I think that was a terrible mistake.
All in all: it's not a bad movie for sure, and it had some enjoyable moments, but can't really give it any more than a 6/10.