Black Could Be Anywhere

Rating: 8/10 (2 May 2011)

It's Harry's third year at Hogwarts; not only does he have a new "Defense Against the Dark Arts" teacher, but there is also trouble brewing. Convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped the Wizards' Prison and is coming after Harry.
Of the first three Harry Potter films, this is by far my favorite. The atmosphere shifts to a darker place, which may be partly due to the story and partly due to the new director. Besides the darker images, I like the characters introduced here -- Professor Lupin, the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor thus far, and Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who is my favorite character in the entire series. We also have the Hippogriff, which is a fantastic creature, and Doby the house elf. And a time travel element that plays out just as effectively -- and with more sense -- than "Timecrimes".
Harry Potter purists may have some complaints here. Hermione now has normal girl hair rather than the wild, frizzy hair, making her less of an outcast that she may be supposed to be. And they spend very, very little time in their school uniforms. Of course, they are more often outside of the school grounds, so that explains itself. I was curious why Ginny never appears even once. Perhaps she does not appear in the book, but at this point she should be becoming a more important character.
There is a line in the film that really stands out: "Black could be anywhere." I do not wish to dwell on this, but I cannot help but wonder if this is some sort of inside joke...