Darker and thus better than the first two but still far too baggy and slow

Rating: Null/10 (21 June 2004)

Its Harry's third year at Hogswarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry and he returns there in a rush having accidentally used magic at home. Forgiven for this by an understanding Ministry, Harry learns that the murderer Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and is supposedly coming to finish his killing spree by murdering Harry. With the cruel and ruthless Dementors circling Hogswarts looking for Black, Harry resides in fear until he learns the truth about Black and longs for to find him and extract his own revenge.
Meanwhile many other secrets await exposure within the hallowed walls.
I was able to see the first two films of the HP series on video at a friend's house for free, which was fortunate because I certainly hadn't been interested enough to pay to see them in the cinema. However, having seen the first two and enjoying them more than I expected, I decided to go and see this one; before I talk about the film let me rant for a minute. First, how very cynical (but unsurprising) that this film has the longest run of adverts (not even trailers) I've ever seen at the cinema  all during them I could hear children bothering parents that they 'want that'  it just confirms that many studios see these sort of films as big seller rather than films. Secondly, this is a dark film with a plot  if you have a group of children who are all younger than 5 then this may not be the film for them; you know that, so why bring them  just say no! Third, if you do bring them then try to control them  chances are they will not be able to sit still for 2+ hours so bring them a colouring book or a soft toy  don't just let them run up and down the stairs. Anyway, as you may have guessed my viewing experience was made more difficult by children who shouldn't have been there but I stayed calm and remembered it wasn't their fault.
The film itself is darker and therefore I enjoyed it more  the change of director has made a great difference in that regard. The plot is also more interesting and is based more on characters and tension that the other films. However this is not to say it is great; because it isn't. No, the film has all the flaws of the earlier films and it is far too baggy and long for one thing. I know fans of the book will cry that it should have been 4 hours long to fit everything in and I wouldn't mind any running time if the film can support it; sadly this film cannot even support two and a half hours and it feels like it is dragging at times. The plot is good but it's delivery could have been tightened up a great deal just by minor snips and the further simplifying of the story  it is meant to be entertainment and, if the long running time takes away from the 'fun' it delivers then it has failed and needs to be trimmed further. The effects are better used here and the darker tone is delivered well in many ways; I enjoyed the shadows and the crueller characters even if some of the aforementioned children clearly didn't want to be in the cinema for much of it!
The cast suffer from the same problem as they did in the other two films  being too heavy in names who are mainly underused. Radcliffe is better again and seems to be taking the film with him as he matures. Watson has less to do than in the other two films and I didn't think the film served her well; Grint is comic relief and pretty much that's all he does. Oldman needed the work and has said that in interviews but I still thought he did a good job even if his performance is too much one way then the other (as the plot requires him to be). Thewlis is a temporary addition and it is obvious to even those of us who have never read any of the books that he will be a key part of the film  but his performance is mostly good. The rest of the cast is cluttered and mostly not really used very well, although the impact of this is minimised by them being in a series rather than just being underused in one film. Rickman has almost nothing to do, Gambon is a poor man's Dumbledore, Smith barely says a line, Coltrane just does his usual stuff, Emma Thompson is funny and hams it up a fair bit but Spall is poor and it is annoying to think he is a key character. The rest of the cast features well known faces in (deliberately) small roles including Lenny Henry (doing his usual rubbish accent thing), Dawn French, Paul Whitehouse, Mark Williams (who looks like he'll say 'which was nice' at any moment) and special mention to Ingleby who will be loved by all Spaced fans as the thug who doesn't know where 'it's too orangey for crows' comes from in the funniest episode of that great sitcom!
Overall this is an OK film but no more than that. I enjoyed it and felt that the darker tone made it a more interesting film even if it chickens out from going very dark in terms of content and feel. The plot is too rambling and the whole film needed to lose another 20 minutes or so to be a tighter more enjoyable film but I can forgive it that, even if I was bored at times. The cast are mostly wasted again and the film is more a product that an actual film but I was still glad I saw it and will watch the next in the series with the ongoing hope that they will improve. Not great but maybe worth watching once and certainly an improvement over the first two in the series.