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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

tomatometer

91

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 232
Fresh: 210 | Rotten: 22

In Cuaron's hands, Azkaban has emotional depth to go along with the technical wizardry.

90

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 42
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 4

In Cuaron's hands, Azkaban has emotional depth to go along with the technical wizardry.

audience

85

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 1,064,361

My Rating

Movie Info

After directing the first two movies in the Harry Potter franchise, Chris Columbus opted to serve as producer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and passed the baton to Y Tu Mamá También director Alfonso Cuarón. Though "immensely popular" is an understatement when it comes to Harry Potter, Azkaban is somewhat of a departure from its predecessors, and particularly beloved among fans for its surprise ending. Prisoner of Azkaban also marks the introduction of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman),

PG, 2 hr. 22 min.

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Kids & Family

Steve Kloves

Nov 22, 2004

$249.4M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (232) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (218) | Rotten (22) | DVD (46)

Like the first two movies, this is loaded with computer-generated imagery, but for the first time there's a sense of dramatic proportion balancing the spectacle and the story line.

September 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is a luminous movie -- luminous, imaginative and affecting. For Harry Potter, at least, the third time is the charm.

July 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comments (2)
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The most powerfully entrancing children's film in years.

August 7, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comment
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[E]ven if you're never read a word of the Potter books and you haven't seen the first two films, Azkaban stands alone as a creative triumph.

June 7, 2004 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The first true Harry Potter movie -- the first to capture not only the books' sense of longing, but their understanding of the way magic underlies the mundane, instead of just prancing fancifully at a far remove from it.

June 5, 2004 Full Review Source: Salon.com | Comment
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The third installment in the Harry Potter series, is everything the first two films were not: complex, frightening, nuanced.

June 4, 2004 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Fantastic, but kids are older, themes are darker.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comments (2)
Common Sense Media

Cuarón filigrees his film with brilliantly outsized projections of Harry's fears and underlying realities. [Blu-ray]

November 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

Potter's third year is his most inventive yet.

November 4, 2010 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment
IGN DVD

Ultimately the success of the film lies in the characters, and the emotions that they trigger in us.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

...another wonder for the eye, especially in high definition, only this time darker and more mature, appropriate to Harry's growing up. (Ultimiate Edition, Blu-ray)

December 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Regardless of its cinematic shortcomings, the Harry Potter film series still has a ton of life in it.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comments (2)
Big Picture Big Sound

Rather than a brand new sense of adventure, there's a sense in this sequel of a rerun, a tendency that even Harry's extreme magic can't seem to overcome.

May 31, 2007 Full Review | Comment
Long Island Press

Rather than a brand new sense of adventure, there's a sense in this sequel of a rerun, a tendency that even Harry's extreme magic can't seem to overcome.

May 30, 2007 Full Review | Comment
Long Island Press

A menagerie of menacing and morphing computer-generated special effects make the movie worthwhile.

May 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Princeton Town Topics | Comment
Princeton Town Topics

Cuarón has produced the most terrifying and darkly humorous movie adaptation of Rowling's stories to date, giving it a visual flair sorely missing in the previous installments.

September 25, 2006 Comment

[Director] Cuarón's imagery delights again and again

August 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer | Comment (1)
Cinema Writer

Compared to its predecessors, this is a more wintry, thoughtful and rewarding movie.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment (1)

What we're treated to is less a story than a series of vignettes.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comments (6)
Film Threat

Two and a half hours of neck-cramping semi-entertainment.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comments (7)
Film Threat

The childlike whimsy of the previous Potters is dead, replaced by an encroaching loss of innocence and a foreboding sense of darkness. A new punch of life for the series.

November 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Comment
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

By far the most artfully realized and beautiful vision of the Potter universe of the entire series (with Half-Blood Prince a close second place). Even if I don't consider it the best movie of the series, it is easily the most appreciated film just because of the directions it took the series and how it allowed the

July 3, 2007
jlewis07

Super Reviewer

A mater film with a strong potent smell of good action, a strong performance from the magic trio and a brilliant adventure.

October 29, 2011
scottgreen96
Scott Green

Super Reviewer

    1. Harry Potter: [on his Firebolt] YEEEEAAAH!
    – Submitted by Michael C (35 days ago)
    1. Hermione Granger: Is that really what my hair looks like form the back?
    – Submitted by Mara F (2 months ago)
    1. Albus Dumbledore: [to Professor Snape] For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud.
    – Submitted by Mladen B (4 months ago)
    1. Hermione Granger: You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!
    – Submitted by Asad C (5 months ago)
    1. Hermione Granger: At least somebody's enjoying himself.
    – Submitted by Asad C (5 months ago)

Latest News for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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July 14, 2009:
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Foreign Titles

  • Harry Potter und der Gefangene von Askaban (DE)
  • Harry Potter et le prisonnier d'Azkaban (FR)
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