As the seventh movie starts to approach I have started to get excited for it and so when I came across Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on TV I could not help but watch it. The third film as well as the book are really the point where I started to truly get into the Harry Potter phenomenon. This is the point where all the characters start to grow up and so to me everything became more intriguing. This is the moment within the series where the actors have grown that your main young characters of Harry, Ron and Hermoine show how much they have improved and that they can really act.
Of course with this being the point where I became the full fledged Harry Potter fan, at the time this was my favorite Harry Potter movie. For me the dementors were amazing, while I believe they are shown briefly in the second film, I don't really remember them, so seeing them in this third film was unique. While they were nothing like I envisioned them in the book they are truly nasty and scary on film. Visually, this is a much darker movie then the previous two and it really ends up being an amazing treat for the eyes. The details in the sets are so intricate that it is impossible to take all of it in just with one viewing.
One thing that I really loved about this movie was that it stayed true to the book, yet when it deviates it does so based on an understanding of the story and characters. This is evident in the way they show, for example, the Knight Bus; Hermione's overstuffed schedule; and the introduction of the Marauder's Map, a scene that captures the twins' mischievous personalities. The changes are clever and funny, and they help compensate for the movie's loss in other areas. Certainly this has to do with the new director and his direction. Cuaron's approach was to stick to the books as literally as possible, often draining them of their subtlety. For instance, where the books only hint that Dumbledore can see through the invisibility cloak, the earlier movies make it unmistakable. The new director never condescends to the audience in that way.
One of the best performances in this film is that of Gary Oldman. It is almost as if this character was created specifically for him. He has such a natural creepiness with just a slight dose of humanity that he truly brings the character to life. Daniel Radcliffe has grown into his role of Harry Potter. He is able to bring such a power to the role that he has shown his ability to move from child actor to adult actor. I think after the series he will not be only viewed as the actor who play Harry Potter.
Yet part of what makes the movie work is the book itself. The story is gripping from start to finish, because the threat looming over the school is established early on. Harry's personal life is sharply intertwined with the plot. We feel for him as we watch his disastrous (but hilarious) attempts to escape his uncle and aunt, and his humiliating reaction to the dementors. The story avoids common devices such as the talking killer or deus ex machina, which the other books have in abundance. The ending is nicely bittersweet and ambiguous. The plot is so complicated, however, that the book spends several chapters explaining it all. The movie wisely includes only very little of this, allowing the plot twists to become understood as the story progresses. I was surprised to see certain events that were in the movie but not the book lend support to an important theory some fans have had about what is to be revealed at the end of the series. Of course, it is well-hidden and won't give anything away for those who aren't looking for the clues.
The visuals were so dark and entertaining. The new director showed his great abilities and really brought the book to life. Since this is the point where I truly became a fan of the series I am giving Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely one that any movie enthusiast should not only see but also own for their own collection.
-The Movie Man-
No comments:
Post a Comment