Third Time's The Charm...

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2004)

SPOILERS
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" sees Harry and friends in mortal danger when they return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The atmosphere is tense, with a mass murderer called Sirius Black on the loose and several Dementors, the foul guards of wizard prison Azkaban, stationed around the school. Even worse, there is a traitor in their midst...
Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien) fills the shoes of regular HP director Chris Columbus excellently, bringing a much darker tone to the franchise, a tone which is necessary for this installment. Daniel Radcliffe is clearly moving with the times, and he has clearly matured since the last movie. His co-stars give a great performance as well. Rupert Grint retains his comic relief status, but it is a lot less whiney and scared, which seemed to be his only emotion in CoS. Emma Watson also gives a great performance, and there are definitely hints that her character will have a future relationship with either Harry or Ron.
The adult cast are great too, if underused. Gary Oldman (Hannibal) only gets 15 minutes screentime as Sirius Black, and Timothy Spall (The Last Samurai) is almost criminally underused. They both serve great portrayals of their respective characters though. The regulars, Robbie Coltrane, (Van Helsing) Maggie Smith, (Hook) and Alan Rickman, (Galaxy Quest) are also underused, and are less noticeable in the movie. David Thewlis, (Timeline) is incredible as Professor Lupin, bringing the character to life. The scenes between him and Harry are the emotional core of the movie. Michael Gambon, (The Actors) is the new Dumbledore, and he plays him more like a hippy than Richard Harris did.
The special effects are on top form again, producing werewolves, Quidditch in the rain, Hippogriffs, inflating aunts and Dementors. My only qualm about the effects was the rain in the Quidditch scene reminding me too much of the rain from The Matrix Revolutions...but that's just me. The plot is also great, with time travel, double decker buses and werewolves fitting comfortably into a semi-plausible story. There's less Voldemort and more themes of adolescent cravings for revenge in this one too. It's arguably the best of the lot, and will entertain the whole family, despite some scary scenes. If you're not a HP fan now, you never will be. Roll on Goblet of Fire!
10/10