Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2005)

The darkest film yet, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a wonderful film. As a big fan of all Harry Potter related things, I loved this film but, only because it was Harry Potter related. As almost all films, it has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. I must say, that the director this time outdid himself, as the visual effects are no less than fantastic. The dementors, the scenery in general and the outside ambiance, especially Hagrid's hut are really fascinating. The village of Hogsemead is really cute and just as I expected it to be. What really disappointed me, probably disappointed most who are big fans of J.K Rowling's books. The film gave great importance to visual effects (if i might add fascinating ones, especially the computer animated hippogriff, Buckbeak) but almost ignored the whole story and its essence. Certain funny comments and situations were eliminated from the film, such as the Dementor/Malfoy situation in the Quidditch Game and Harry's crush on Cho Chang. The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book was really emotional and although, true Harry Potter fans did find their eyes watering at the some point in the film, I must say that I almost tore the book's pages with my crying. The whole story of the Maurauder's map is almost deleted entirely and that, in my opinion is not good, as it is a very special part in the book. I really must say that the previous two films were more faithful to the story. But, who am I to comment on such things? After all, J.K Rowling did work entirely with the screen writer, so she, of all people, should know what is important and what's not relevant to future films. Still, I think that certain special moments mean the world to Harry Potter fans, who probably, have lost count of the number of times they had seen the film.