A Darker, More Mature Potter

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2006)

While Chris Columbus did do his job making worthy adaptations of the first two Potter films and had the loyalty of fans of the book (myself included) they lacked much, entertainment being one of the biggest, as they felt more like a vision with people talking from the book rather than an actual movie. But the Harry Potter series has now met Alfonso Cauron, who proves to not only manage to give the Harry Potter series some much needed spunk and maturity, but also proves to make it a good movie on its own merits.
Part what makes Prisoner of Azkaban such an improvement over its predecessors is that the young actors seem to have gotten the space they needed. It's hard to get young actors/actresses to get a particular role right and still make them feel comfortable with their career, but Cauron seems to have taken pressure off of Radcliffe, Grint and Watson's shoulders. The older performers in the movie are also given time to let the audience get acquainted with who they are.
Prisoner of Azkaban is also much darker and mature but also more humorous than the previous installments. The mood of the story and movie not only looks dark but also feels dark and it helps to reflect on the younger roles of the movie by making them seem all the more mature. But even with this, the movie manages to crack a few jokes to make the viewer get a chuckle or two here and there and it helps to provide a brief relief from the seriousness from the film, and a little humor never hurt anyone right? But most of all, this third installment proves to be far more entertaining above all. Unlike Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, which felt much like a bunch of actors and actresses efficiently speaking word-for-word from the book , Prisoner of Azkaban liberates itself from the book but manages to keep much of the sufficient details from it in the movie and in the end it pays off as a much more fun to watch movie.
Serious Harry Potter fans might feel somewhat betrayed by Prisoner of Azkaban and how it shares only the main plot details from the book, but casual movie goers will find a tasty and ultimately satisfying treat in it.