Harry Potter on speed

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2004)

OK, granted, this was a long, complicated book, thus it was challenging to condense it into a 2 hour movie, but there was very limited character development. The whole movie just felt rushed, from the very first minute, and it made the entire movie a bit confusing. The dialogue was so fast that the acting seemed poor. Basically this was a 2 hour movie that needed to be closer to 3 hours. And if they felt that they could not make the movie much longer, they should have cut out superfluous scenes such as the singing with the giant toads, or the part where Harry is flying around on Buckbeak's back (which frankly, looked so cliché and "titanic-esque" that everyone in the theatre laughed). Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew are very important characters, especially in later books (and subsequently movies) but they were not fully developed. I don't think it was even clear that they, in addition to Harry's father, James, created the Marauders's Map. The Prisoner of Azkaban was shot in a very different way from the first two movies. You can definitely tell this was a different director. Instead of focusing on the individual, it was "bigger." You get to see more of the Hogwarts' grounds, which was great. And this movie was funnier than the previous two. I also really enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Hermione and Ron! I did not care for the new Dumbledore, Michael Gambon. He did not have Richard Harris's warmth, which portrayed Dumbledore's light-hearted humor. Gambon's humor was sardonic, and just did not make Dumbledore as likable.
The long and the short is, this is an entertaining movie, but without reading the book, you may find yourself a bit lost.