Whether or not you read the books, there's hardly any denying that the "Harry Potter" movies work really well. Now on their third iteration, the films continue on the same path, even with a change of directors. "Prisoner of Azkaban" offers up and incredible amount of entertainment for just about any age group while adding to the lead characters story better than any other film in the series.
Another year at Hogwarts, another year of trouble for quickly growing wizard Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and friends. Seems that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has become the first prisoner to ever escape from Azkaban and he's headed for Hogwarts... to find Harry. Now Potter must not only worry about his life, but find out why Sirius is so determined to kill the young wizard.
The series was handed over to a new director here, Alfonso Cuaron, and he has taken the film to an entirely new direction. This is a relentlessly dark movie with plenty of scare factor, a wild change of pace from the previous two films. It's also the best in the series.
Most of the first two entries spend plenty of time showing the world these characters inhabit, introducing new locations, and plenty of wild creatures. All of that is done and over. It's time to focuses on the characters and that choice has been made wisely. You'll learn plenty of Potter's backstory as the adventure progresses and the mystery is slowly unraveled. Most of the supporting cast just serves to move the plot along, as this is film squarely focused on the lead.
That's certainly not a bad thing. Coming in at over two hours, it's surprising that every single scene serves a purpose. There are plenty of unforgettable moments to be had and the use of foreshadowing is just fantastic. There's even a little bit of time travel to be had.
It's rare when you can keep a kid firmly seated for such a lengthy movie, but there's a reason both the book and movie versions of "Harry Potter" are so successful. This is one that may require some "parental guidance" to get them through (the werewolf transformation should be terrifying to a young child), but they should be enthralled throughout. So should you. (**** out of *****)
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