The Good, The Bad, and The Animagus

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2004)

Okay,it doesn't follow the books very well at all. I see that, and so will anyone who's read the books. Now that isn't, in and of itself, a Bad Thing.
HOWEVER, much of what was sacrificed to bring this down to a manageable length as a film is what damages it as a film as well. Many of the subtle nuances and interrelations between events and characters and historical issues are simply cut, wholesale. This has lead to a movie that is choppy, and has a somewhat confused, lurching quality to it.
Indeed, this movie could probably have benefited from adding about 10 minutes, which would have brought it up to the running time of the first film. This would have added immeasureably to the film and would have given some sorely needed exposition that the movie, in it's current form, seems to just want to race right over the top of.
Now, onto the film as it relates to the first two.
This film is quite different in visual style than the first two. And layout in the film doesn't really maintain continuity with the first two. This is NOT a Bad Thing. Again, we're talking about films, not the books. So alterations will happen. Especially when the director changes, since the vision of the world held by that director will be different as well.
So, while lacking the familiarity of the first two films, PoA gives us a lush visual style that's actually quite appealing and very coherent within itself. Not Bad. Just different.
As to the acting, which some people cannot seem to NOT carp on. Remember, we're dealing with TEENAGERS here. Children playing children's roles. This isn't a Shakespearean company doing A Midsummer Night's Dream. These are children, portraying children, and all the unsubtle and overly dramatic emotional swings that children evince. Anything more adult would just confuse children in the audience and would make the characters not ring quite so true.
As to the adult cast, all the returning regulars are quite spot-on. As to the new additions. Gambon does well with his Dumbledore. Emma Thompson, while not QUITE as dramatic as Trelawney, captures the dippy, scattered quality of Sybil quite well. Thewlis' Lupin is jarring for some reason I can't quite explain, but still quite well done. And Oldman's Black is, as with most of Gary's parts, exceptional.
So, what we have with this movie is a mixed bag. It has some rough areas and failings, both as a film, and a book adaptation. However, it delivers well despite these failings.
But see for yourself.