Alphonso Cuaron Steers Potter and Friends Into Stormier Waters

Rating: 6/10 (20 September 2018)

It's the third installment of Harry Potter and already the child actors have done a lot of growing up. Visually and dramatically, they've grown into their roles, and director Alphonso Cuarón lets them flaunt that newfound independence in his only take on the series. The school feels more lived-in and tangible, as opposed to the amusement park it seemed in the first two movies, and its residents (particularly the three central Hogwarts kids) are less buttoned-up and disciplined, more comfortable with their surroundings. It's also darker and more foreboding, foreshadowing the idea that this series was headed into stormy waters.
Adding Gary Oldman to the mix seems a good choice, though he does little more than snarl and growl menacingly, Michael Gambon plays a more vibrant Dumbledore in relief of the late Richard Harris, and the returning cast all do well in their established roles. The plot flitters around for quite a while, however, obsessing over excessive amounts of day-in-the-life snapshots and unrelated asides. That does confirm the sense of wonder that's been imbued in this world since day one, but it also makes the plot feel extra slow and padded-out.
The effects work has improved since The Chamber of Secrets, even if it still shows some cobwebs (particularly during the whomping willow ride). That progress could be attributed to a strict limit on house elves and quidditch matches, which were both prime suspects in the more eye-rolling segments of the preceding film. Azkaban is fair enough, with a meatier plot and a more tangible landscape. And, huzzah, the greater narrative does finally begin to move somewhere interesting. Alas, I still can't quite figure what all the fuss is about with this series. Maybe one had to grow up reading the novels.