Best in the series

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2013)

Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite Harry Potter film. It is the only one in the series that shows the magic of the HP universe while presenting a film mature enough for adults but fun enough for children. Where this film completely beats the others though, is the pacing. Excluding the Shrieking Shack scene, the film never seems rushed. And unlike the films following this one, at no point does a non-fan sit and wonder whats going on. The directors and writers of later HP films trip fail to explain simple plots, but PoA does it with little fuss. Little scenes relevant to the main story appear in between classes, so that the plot keeps moving, something that a film like the Order of the Phoenix, failed at completely.
The director in this does very well. The awkwardness present in some scenes in other HP movies is not present here. Scenes are shot through nice camera angles, and the director takes full advantage of the brilliant setting by showing quite a few long shots of the castle. The audio is quite great as well.
The acting is an improvement over the last two films, but not great. The only other complain I have is the rushed climactic scene where the trio meet the antagonist. They do a poor job of explaining the twist in the story. One does wonder why the producers spent so much time on classes and then rushed the main part.