Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Film number three, and the story is starting to really pick up. It begins to delve into the history behind the main villain, Voldemort. The first two movies were all about establishing characters and locations. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, he tries to come back and fails. In The Chamber of Secrets, he tries to come back and fails. But here, Voldemort isn’t trying another scheme to come back. Instead, we learn a bit about what he was like, who his followers were, and who was opposing him. We find out a little more about Harry’s parents and their friends, and that is what makes this movie so cool.
One of the most interesting, and I might say well-acted, scenes in the movie was the one where Snape confronts Lupin and Black in the Shrieking Shack. There is a reason Gary Oldman, playing Serius Black, is widely considered one of the best actors of his age. And Alan Rickman was great as Professor Snape. One of the coolest choices Rickman made in his performance was when Lupin turns into a wolf. At first, when Snape emerges from the tunnel, he is confronting the children, but as soon as he becomes aware of the werewolf, watch what he does. He throws his arms out and interposes himself between the children and the dangerous creature. I love that his first instinct is to protect the kids. David Thewlis, was perfectly cast as Professor Lupin, and Timothy Spall’s performance as Peter Pettigrew was so delightfully pathetic. And yes, I even liked Emma Thompson as the slightly daft Professor Trelawney.
And the acting from the film’s three leads, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, just keeps getting better. The themes in the movie were darker and more adult than they had been in the previous films, and the trio did such a great job of keeping up with the more mature nature of the evolving plot. They were great. Also their on-screen chemistry just seemed to be getting tighter and tighter. And lest I forget, I have to mention the addition of Michael Gambon to the cast. Harris may have been a great actor, but I feel he was wrong for the part of Dumbledore. Gambon brought some missing qualities to the character in a wonderful way. He was confident, commanding, and even imposing when necessary.
One of the things I loved about this third installment of the franchise the most was how the aesthetics of the Harry Potter world were given a much needed modern makeover. Nowhere was this change more evident than in the character of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Here, he appropriately looked like he belonged in the 1990s and not the 1790s.
Then there were the Dementors. Talk about terrifying things in a movie that is still mostly geared toward children. These things would have really scared me when I was a kid. They were just black, vaguely humanoid shapes that floated about, wraiths whose tattered robes fluttered like tentacles, even when there was no wind. Such a great design!
OK, now on with the little details about the plot that didn’t sit right with me, and there weren’t many. Rapid-fire style. Flitwick doesn’t have any idea how to conduct a choir. And if this is a start of year feast, when did the student choir have any time to rehearse their performance? Parvati Patil’s Jack in the box clown was more terrifying than the snake. Harry’s assault on Draco and his goons is ridiculous. Harry is under a cloak. You can’t throw a snowball if you are under a blanket. If a Boggart takes the form of a Dementor, does he actually acquire the powers and abilities of a Dementor as well? I would say not. Otherwise Lupin would have turned into a werewolf when he saw the image of the moon in his classroom. During their fight with the Whomping Willow, there is absolutely no way Hermione could have picked Harry up by the shirt, let alone perched unsteadily on a branch moving that quickly, lift him into the air, carry him with her, and accurately throw him into the tunnel. Nope… Not buying that one.
Top 10 Favorite Parts
- Aunt Marge blows up and floats away like a balloon.
- Lupin’s worst fear, represented by the Boggart, is the full moon. Foreshadowing!
- Lupin’s touching conversations with Harry on the bridge and in the forest.
- The Dangerous quidditch game in the rain, and that it was against Hufflepuff, not Slytherin
- Trelawney tells Hermione she isn’t cut out for divination.
- Trelawney goes into a real trance and utters a true prophecy.
- Hermione scares Draco senseless and then punches him in the face.
- The entire scene inside the Shrieking Shack.
- Snape protecting the children from the werewolf.
- After the time-turner adventure, Dumbledore saying “Did what? Good night.”