Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Reviews

Brilliant sense of style, depth and breadth, and the successive transition of Harry Potter to the wrings of teenage angst makes this movie one of the best, if not the best of the series through wizardlike pacing that was lacking from its predecessors.

A great change in direction for the look of the series and culminating in a fantastic ending. Full review later.

Harry Potter's third adventure is easily my favorite.

Alfonso Cuaron took over as director, and he was an interesting choice. That he started taking things in a new and more serious direction was also a good thing.

Potter's third year at school is overshadowed by news that a wanted criminal associated with the death of his parents has escaped from an infamous magic prison, and that Harry may be his next target as a result. This also involves the (literal) soul sucking guards of said prison being employed to stand watch over the school. But Harry doesn't have to go it alone. As usual, his loyal friends Hermoine and Ron are there to help him out as he tries to deal with this looming news as well as further uncover the mysteries of his past.

I loved how drastic of a turn this one made from the last. Sure, it's not completely serious, but having it start to get that way is quite refreshing. This series has always had some good art direction and set design, but Cuaron really delivers the goods with some quite moody, eerie, and atmospheric stuff.

The effects are good as per usual, the music great, and once again, the core cast provide great performances.

Definitely check this one out. It's quite a ride.

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 future directions to build off of. Ironically its the lowest grossing film of the series because it's the least mainstream. Here Cuaron put a stamp on the series that was unmistakably his and took the series from the whimsical magic of the previous two into the darker and much more mature story that it becomes. The special effects take a significant leap forward, as does the acting. The only reason this isn't my favorite in the series is because it is probably my least favorite story-wise. It has an anti-climatic feel to it, despite some hefty realizations towards the end that are fantastic. That happens at times in middle chapters of a long running series, but Prisoner of Azkaban is still wonderful and one of the best films overall in the whole series. It has a huge following from the critical side of the spectrum.

With new director Alfonso Cuarón, the film takes on a more adventurous toll and emotional depth, and it's nothing short of spectacular. As the main stars grow more realistically as well as into their character, so does their performances and chemistry. 'Azkaban' executes as a thrilling installment and the best from its predecessors. 4.5/5

Though the darkest of the franchise upon its release, the film has several unnecessary humorous moments that take away the fantasy or mystery of the plot and instead make it all seem very childish and cartoonish.

Adds depth to the story-line but can't help but feel as if it diverges from the story a bit. Although the least impacting of the Potter films, its the best acting the three have done to date. Fun filled, faster paced then the other two, a brilliant movie over all

One of the best films in the Harry Potter-franchise. Where earlier two entries into the J.K. Rowling's fantasy world felt artificial and tame, this third one has imagination, style and quite impressive script also. Much of the credit must be given to director Alfonso Cuaron whose approach to material is much more darker in visual terms and more innovative too.
Prisoner of Azkaban has also well made story and Steve Kloves uses it to great effect here. It begins little slowly and and much of the stuff feel way too familiar for the first 45-minutes, but it is the second half that makes this film really fly. With thunderous score by John Williams, this has even echoes of Steven Spielberg's finest work. I truly admire how they use the timetravel aspect of the story here and makes it really work.
There are twists and turns in the story and even emotional depth that has been otherwise absent in many film-adaptations of Rowling's Potter-books. This might not be nothing more than a lightweight fantasy and pure entertainment, but it has some edge of your seat moments and just enough magic to keep it afloat.

Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón takes over as director for HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, the third film in its series.

I have always appreciated this entry much more than the previous two, because it brings out what it was foreshadowed that Harry Potter would be all along: dark and grim, yet often light-hearted. Now, instead of a supporter of his parents' murderer, or a self-absorbed celebrity, Harry's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is more enjoyable. (Though even he has a dark side, too.)

If there's one thing that disappoints with this ambitious third entry, it's that one of the main cast members is replaced. Now that Richard Harris's life has come to an end, Dumbledore needed to be replaced. And the only similarity is the costume.

This is the point where Harry Potter had started taking a trip out of family film zone. It's dark, creepy, but still irresistible.

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

At the end of it all, this is the best one. Cuaron's got style. It's probably the best stand alone story of the series, which helps, but it is filmed with some individual style, wit and slickness- staying faithful but not sycophantic like the first two. Yeah, it is darker, but darker with conviction and purpose, not for the sake of it, or to try and be taken seriously. Fantastic performances from Gary Oldman and David Thewlis top it all off, and Michael Gambon has a remarkably assured and faithful go at Dumbledore- and is a lot better than in the next couple of films. The production design, visual effects and editing work brilliantly together, creating a new, chilly, steampunky world that makes the story both more relevant and cinematic. Well done, everyone.

And here it is. The review I've always been afraid to write. I have several friends who absolutely love the books that hate, HATE, this film. Yet, even though I've read the book and know this film deviates quite a bit from the book, I still enjoy this film more than almost any film in the entire series. Why? Because in my opinion, this was the first film in the series to actually try and make a warped world of fantasy. As accurate as Christopher Colombus' versions of the first 2 films were, he never actually managed to make it anything beyond generic fantasy. It's one thing to transcribe every word of dialogue into a screenplay, it's another to capture the spirit of the book while extracting the parts that make it good (ala "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" or the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy). Whenever I read the Potter books, I always imagined a world that was extremely warped, but slightly recognizable. "Prisoner of Azkaban" captures that spirit, but at the price of deviating from the source material, causing it to be one of the most hated films in the franchise. In terms of cinematography, style, and direction, this is arguably the best film in the series. It introduces the characters of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin very well. One thing that this film does mess up is introducing the new actor for Dumbledore. He does a great job, but the director could have done a better job of introducing him subtly instead of scarring fans. The final (and biggest screw up, in my opinion) is Lupin's wolf form. The transformation is more hilarious than scary, and the final form isn't that much better. I always felt that this film was a good segue into the darkness that would emerge very quickly in The Goblet of Fire, so I have always loved it. But now that the saga is complete, I can say with a lot of confidence that the best in the series is easily The Deathly Hallows (both parts combined). Now, let's see how long it takes for Potter fans to murder me.

Best HP movie up to this point, and easily one of the best out of all 8.

...and now we come to what I feel to be the best entry of the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This time around, backstory is thrown out the window, mystery lag is left mostly in the dirt, character-driven plot & action reign supreme and the pacing has finally been nailed down - losing the extraneous details. As I've stated to many people, I'm not a die hard fan of this series, but if I was to recommend one film from the entire run, it would be this one. This not only has some of the series' best acting and filmmaking on display, but it's also a bit more accessible to a wider range of people due to it's moodier atmosphere. This makes it much more adult than the previous entries without overdoing it, which is one of the reasons why I love it. Complaints have been made that it isn't quite as faithful to the book as Chris Columbus' previous efforts, but I believe that's an improvement. It takes more serious chances and comes off a much better film with a stronger narrative as a result.

I may be a little biased, since I'm an Alfonso Cuarón fanboy, but this is probably the best "Harry Potter" film. The editing's improved, as well. Part Three is where the franchise really started to go darker and more mature. The themes and the cinematography reflect that. Emma Thompson joins the cast as Sybil Trelawney and Gary Oldman does as Sirius Black. Both amazing.

Professor Snape: Well, well, Lupin. Out for a little walk... in the moonlight, are we?

"Have You Seen This Wizard?"

With Prisoner of Azkaban, Alfonso Caurón contributes is only film to the Harry Potter franchise. He got one shot at it, and he didn't miss. Many considered this the best film in the franchise(I believe that has changed for most). I still do like two or three movies in the series more than this one.

There's a lot to like here. Harry, Ron and Hermoine finally lose that innocent feel they had in the first two. They are growing up and as they up the tones of the movies begin to feel darker and darker. My favorite thing about this one is the fact that Gary Oldman is involved. He plays Sirious Black and although he doesn't have any screen time until the last part; he is still very good and has a powerful presence. Sirius Blacks presence overshadows the entire movie though; even though he is not onscreen. Sirius has broken out of Azkaban Prison and is now on the hunt. We learn how Sirius is connected to Harry and his parents. Also, we learn a lot about Ron's pet rat, "Scabbers."
The way the scenes where Harry and Hermoine go back in time were handled great. It's kind of funny seeing all those things that I thought were just coincidence.

This movie starts the progression into darkness that will occur in the rest of the movies. That innocence from Sorcerer's Stone is now completely gone. Caurón really deserves great for his excellent contribution to the franchise.

Prisoner of Azkaban is one of the best written, and best made of the Potter series. What it also is, is quite boring and tends to prolong it's scenes when it should be faster paced. I can understand that it was based off of the book, and that's fine, but I was still bored. What makes the film great is the fantastic performance from Gary Oldman, who is brilliant as Sirius Black. Recommended.

HP has always been an emotional series but the first few acts (and closing scenes) are directed with such reverence you finally get a real feel of character's inner conflicts.

Unfortunately... once you hit the half mark this movie turns into a mosaic of incoherent events that unfold clumsily like a series of scenes from a High School Play. (like Black & Lupin confronting Pettigrew? So stupidly staged. Or them conveniently stumbling into 30 dementors?)

And the whole time traveling thing... Uh, overpowered magic much? Why wasn't/isn't it abused in future and past movies when they needed to get out of tough situations? Why the hell did a teacher give such a device to a student?! It's all so very, very stupid. Y'know what's also stupid? A Werewolf PROFESSOR who fails to check the calendar to make sure there's no full moon out that particular night.

All these plotholes really kill the "complex story" experience as the events all finally come together and "make sense" in the final acts of the film.

I don't get why everybody says this one is so great. Just because Alfonso Cuaron was responsible for this one doesn't mean it's not as frightfully boring as the other two. There's a frigid - almost documentary style - air to Prisoner of Azkaban, which sometimes works for it but most of time doesn't. Yeah, it's loads better than anything Chris Columbus could dream up, but that's not really saying much considering the comparison.

Yes! It took three tries, but Harry Potter has finally carved a name for itself in the cannon of great fantasy films; the books are already one of the most beloved works in all of fantasy literature, but the movie versions have yet to stand on their own. That changes with Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban.
The best addition is director Alfonso Cuaron. A renowned Spanish filmmaker, who's previous film Y Tu Mama Tambien was a masterpiece, Cuaron injects a lot of visual flair into the shots. Take for instance how he accounts for the passage of time. He uses the image of the weeping willow and its reactions to the changes in season. Most directors would have just established scenes with a shot over Hogwarts, but Cuaron creates beautifully edited sequences. Also, he doesn't just use shot/reverse shot techniques when filming actors. He stages the action so the camera can linger and move with the characters, framing them in conjunction with their surroundings. Hogwarts is as much of a character as anyone else.
Instead of adapting the book page for page, this screenplay is extremely focused. Only scenes that move the plot forward are included, presenting themes and issues that involve the audience. The kids are growing up and so are the films. There is a lot of dark material that this film covers. The magical world of wizards and witches is just that, but it's also a dangerous one, and the misuse of magic, as well as the intentions behind it, can and do have serious consequences.
This is a great film and I can't wait to see what the next one has in store. Harry Potter is here to stay!