Great movie, if not well explained

Rating: Null/10 (5 June 2004)

I thought that the movie was excellent. It was much better than the previous two which were like book reviews. A madman has escaped Azkaban to supposedly come after Harry. I thought that Gary Oldman was brilliant as Sirius Black. Even Michael Gambon as the new Headmaster Dumbledore was a great role. I actually like him better as Dumbledore than I did Richard Harris.
My only problem was that the screenplay lacked, what I thought, were some essential details critical to the story. I didn't mind that some scenes were out of order, as long as they all get in the movie, who cares?
WARNING: SPOILERS MIGHT BE CONTAINED IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH! But when the screenwriters don't explain why Snape and Sirius hate each other so much, you lose those elements that will take away from the fourth movie. When you don't explain about the Wolfsbane Potion, you don't understand what Sirius is talking about at the end of the movie. You need to explain how Prof. Lupin knew about the map and who Moony, Wormatail, Padfoot, and Prongs are. I did like, however, how much Hermione was not as mean or aloft as she seemed in the book. The screenplay was my only problem. The film was dark and that suited it well.