liked it better than the first two movies ** slight spoilers

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2004)

The first thing I'd like to say is I'm a huge fan of the books and after viewing the movie more than once, I am so happy with the final product. Prisoner is my favorite book our of the whole series. To be honest, I read everyone's review of the movie before actually seeing it and the basic message I got was to enjoy the movie as a movie and leave out all comparisons from the book. This worked and made me enjoy the movie.
*On Acting* There were so many things to be happy about. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson did an excellent job portraying Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were better this time around than in Sorcerer's Stone or Chamber of Secrets. I could feel the angst coming from Harry. I was surprised and glad with Radcliffe's screaming "He was their friend!" scene. Superb acting from David Thewliss and Gary Oldman - they nailed their parts down. Sirius's speech in the Shrieking shack was intense. I was glad the new Dumbledore was a little more "mad" this time round. Alan Rickman's Snape of course was true to form. If given a chance to show how unfair Snape really is in the books on screen, the audience will probably hate the character even more. Emma Thompson as Professor Trewlawney was perfect. Loved it.
*On Directing* Enjoyed the directing. I was left with distinct images - the frozen and dying flowers as dementors passed, the transitions between scenes and the like. I liked the new look of Hogwarts even though it wasn't what I initially imagined when I read the books.
On whole, the movie was a lot better than the first two with the directing and improved acting of the main characters. The special effects were average. I was glad everyone was using their wands for light. I was not exactly impressed with the Patronus and I thought the werewolf could have been done better. Perhaps I'm just spoiled with fantastic special effects from Lord of The Rings.
I give the movie thumbs up. Looking forward to owning this on DVD as well as the 6th book.