My review

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 2004)

This film marks what I hope to be a turning point in the books adaptation to film, although I should say that I find the first two books somewhat duller than the rest of the series so far.
Its darker, a lot darker than the others, Cuaron has done a fantastic job in really bringing the world of the books to life. The Dementors are especially disturbing, you get a single flicker of their mouths, and it's the stuff of nightmares. I will only mention the special effects, as special.
The photography is awesome, Seresin pulls off some true jaw dropping panoramas of the Scottish countryside, with close ups on par with his best in Angel Heart. Magic, rather refreshingly features everywhere, and you really get the impression that you have entered a world filled with it.
Lupin is portrayed brilliantly by Thewlis, just as I imagined him from the books. Rickman is as amazing as we have all come to expect. Ratcliffe, Watson, and Grint are all light years better than they were in the previous films, we can only hope that these up and comings don't end up as typecast child stars, that would be a waste. Oldman, unfortunately does not really get a chance to emerge as a character due to what seems like heavy time constraints. I look forward to seeing what he does with Sirius in the Goblet of Fire.
Which leads me into my only complaint of the film, its been heavily edited to fit into a time slot. This is annoying because you get the feeling that a lot more was filmed and cut out. Overall it just about gets away with some of the story changes, making some composite scenes work quite effectively. I am personally hoping for a directors cut in the near future, as the tapestry that Cuaron weaves is rich and vibrant. A big thumbs up, I don't understand why they are changing the director for the next film though...
Oh, did anyone else spot Ian Brown (Stone Roses) stirring a bowl of pea soup magically in the Leaky Caldron :)