Very much a middle chapter

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2004)

Azkaban is very much a middle chapter of a work in progress. It moves the Harry Potter story forward by introducing Sirius Black and filling in more of the back story. As a stand alone film though it has weaknesses summed up by Harry himself in the coda at the end of the film when he says that nothing that has happened has made very much difference. In the previous two films there was an identifiable bad guy who got his comeuppance, at least temporarily, giving the films a sense of closure. This chapter doesn't really close it just sets up the next film.
As for the new director, Cuaron has made an excellent contribution to the Potterverse. The restraint of the CGI effects is a welcome relief after the heavy handed use of FX in the previous films. Let's hope Mike Newell continues in the same vein with Potter 4.