Continuity, What Continuity?

Rating: 1/10 (14 June 2004)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban lacked CONTINUITY with the previous Harry Potter Movies. Taking the reigns from Chris Columbus was a huge task and unfortunately Alfonso Cuaron wasn't up to the task. The first thing that you will notice during is that the cinematography is quite different than the previous movies. I know that the third installment of J.K. Rowling's series was darker than the other two books but Alfonso Cuaron actually made the cinematography darker also. It reminded me of the SciFi movie "Pitch Black."
Creative differences aside, the Prisoner of Azkaban also lacked the accuracy of the other movies. For example, in the first scene, Harry is reading his text under the sheets using his wand for illumination. Why isn't this a violation of the edict that underage wizards can't use magic outside Hogwarts? Harry's trip on the Knight bus was very good. Harry's arrival at the Leaky Cauldron and meeting with Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic wasn't bad but what happened to Harry's trips to Diagon Alley? It would have been nice to see Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and Quality Quidditch Supplies and get introduced to the state-of-the-art racing broom, "The Firebolt." The Hogwarts Express coach was downsized so much that getting two people, even underage wizards, into the cramped seats seemed almost impossible. What I missed the most was the splendor of the Great Hall. In this movie, it was downplayed so much that it could have been just another room at the castle. It also took me a while to recognize tiny, white-haired Professor Flitwick because he was transformed into a choir conductor with a Prince Valiant haircut and black hair color. I could go on about the lack of continuity. Such as the relocation of the castle and grounds, change in the location of the Gryffindor common room entrance, A new Fat Lady, lack of any real Quidditch matches even though Quidditch played an important part in the book, and a pitiful whomping willow but you get the picture. One of the best scenes in the movie should have been Harry rescuing Sirius from the Dementors. We expect to see a blinding, silvery Stag that charges across the lake to save Sirius. What we get is a silvery image crossing what appears to be an inlet about the width of a small pond shot from a distance. Yes, the flying scenes with Harry and Buckbeak, the hippogriff were great but took too much scene time from the other significant story threads. Like the introduction of Cedric Diggory who will play an important role in The Goblet of Fire. Last but not least, Harry's Firebolt was introduced in the last scene and it looked like it was fitted with "stirrups!"
This was a very disappointing movie. Some critics say that the acting was greatly improved but as fans of Harry Potter I don't think we were expecting performances worthy of "Citizen Kane" or the "Grapes of Wrath." What we expected is a good fantasy adventure that kids and adults and see together that continues the story about a young wizard learning about his heritage and facing very difficult choices in life. The chain of continuity was badly damaged with this installment. Let's hope the Goblet of Fire can restore it.