MAJOR plot points left out

Rating: 4/10 (4 August 2007)

Listen, I understand that to make a movie from a book you have to leave things out. However, I believe that if a movie is going to made from a book, it should stand on its own. Meaning that you should be able to follow the movie if you haven't read the book. I have read the book, but I saw the movie with people who had not. And we got out of the movie and they were thoroughly confused. And I don't blame them, because the movie failed to explain (1) how Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, (2) how he knew that Pettigrew was Ron's pet and therefore at Hogwarts, and (3) who the 4 Marauders were so it was confusing that Lupin understood what the map was and how it worked. This is just sloppy film making. Add a few lines here and there and it's explained. I can live without the Quiddich and the subplots from the book, but when I have to spend 15 minutes explaining things to people after the movie, the movie is a failure.