Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban





The best Harry Potter film so far. B+

I loved this movie. I really really loved it. Way more than I should have. A+, third best film of the year for me.

Excellent film. I am a huge Harry Potter fan and I did like the first film and love the 2nd film but this movie almost completely camptured the joy and mystery of the book. The 3 main leads improved tremendously over the course of the last 2 movies. Radcliffe is pretty good in this film and has finally settled in the role after that mediocre performance in Sorceror's Stone. Grint and Watson have both proven already that they have been correctly casted for their roles and their great in here too. The supporting cast is very good as well. While the book is much better (If you haven't read the books yet and seen the movies, shame on you) and I would have liked have sene some of the stuff they missed from the book, it is a very well made film and the best of the 3. Props to Cuaron, hopefully Newell won't mess up Goblet of Fire which has been my favorite book.

- A-/B+

A-/B+

It was obviously the best movie of the three so far, and I think Cuaron did an amazing job. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint also greatly improved in each of their roles. It was a good movie, but I just didn't like how it was so different from the book, which distracted me a little. Like, they cut out the whole relationship that went on between Crookshanks/Scabbers and Crookshanks/Sirius, and they didn't even give any clue as to why Crookshanks really was attack Scabbers. I also felt that they didn't really express how close of friends Lupin, Sirius, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew were, which would have made the impact of Pettigrew being the one who killed them stronger. Also, I felt the whole skrieking shack scene was too rushed, not to mention the way they ended it. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. But, it was a good movie, and can actually stand alone as a movie, while the first two were, I felt, more of a visual representation of the book as opposed to actual movies.

Great movie! Way better than No. 1 and 2!

Edit: Best Harry Potter so far. This is how a HP Film should feel like. A

My 2nd favorite movie of the year, was my first until I saw Eternal Sunshine. It gets an A+ from me.

97

BEST FILM OF THE YEAR

well im an all around Potter hatter

but i must say, im impressed at how good the 3rd movie is! :?
i actually enjoyed it :evil: very dark..........i like it!

BY FAR!!!!! the best Potter movie

B++

A+

HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004)


Not being a fan of long fantasy movies and having never read a "Harry Potter" book, I thought Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone looked to be really stupid. But I ended up seeing it eventually on video and to my surprise; I enjoyed it quite a bit. So after enjoying that one so much I decided to see Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets in theaters. That ended up being a big mistake though, as I found myself bored out of my mind and I didn't enjoy it one bit. Since I figured I would have enjoyed it more on video, as I usually do long fantasy movies (well, I wouldn't say I enjoy them on video; I just don't loathe them as much when I don't have to sit in a theater for three straight hours to watch them and I'm instead free to stop and continue them whenever I want to), I ended up seeing it again on video. But I still didn't end up enjoying it. I did raise my rating a notch though because it wasn't as torturous to sit through in the comfort of your own home. Still, I found the movie to be too dark and it lacked the magic of the original. When Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban was released, I wasn't going to repeat the same mistake again and see it in theaters. My expectations were very low after the disappointing second installment and I wasn't in a hurry to go on another "Harry Potter" adventure. The day it came out on video I wasn't even planning on renting it, but then while I was in town at the video store I ended up grabbing it off the shelf and checking it out. I got to keep it for 7 days and I waited until the last minute to watch it. Expecting to be kind of bored, I was shocked to find myself hooked from the beginning. After seeing how the darker tone of the sequel failed and hearing the third entry was darker yet, I didn't think it would manage to come close to being as good as the original. However, since I was seeing it on video and not in theaters I knew I'd at least like it better than the second one for sure. It also didn't hurt that the runtime was a nice amount shorter. The darker tone here ended up working much better this time around, and I was actually interested in the storyline. I particularly really enjoyed the werewolf aspect of the film. They're my favorite horror creature and I had a lot of fun with the addition of the mythical beast in the story.

Despite some people complaining about the direction he took the movie, I thought Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mama Tambien) did a terrific job with this installment. Even author J.K. Rowling has supposedly said that she loved the film and thinks it's the best yet. I must agree too. First off, the movie looks absolutely great. I find it to be the best looking of the series. It had a perfect atmosphere. I loved the look of a lot of the outside scenes towards the end. Cuarón's vision improves the movie greatly and the fourth film in the series will have a lot to live up to. I'm worried it won't be able to succeed as wonderfully.

I also found the runtime to be perfect. Any longer and I feel it would have been too long. It would be nice if the rest of the movies in the series could have similar runtimes.

People have complained that there's too much sexual tension between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint), but I disagree. I don't think there's that much. Yes, I could sense some, but it was just right and not excessive. It's only natural that there would be some as these characters are growing up. Despite people's protests that they're just supposed to be friends, it would be incredibly unrealistic for the three of them to be friends without any sexual tension in the group.

I've really come to like Emma Watson quite a bit as Hermione. She is easily my favorite of the three main characters. I'm not a big fan of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry though. It's not his fault, he seems right for the part; it's just the character more than anything I suppose, but Radcliffe doesn't help. He's such a major geek and the way his face looks when he delivers lines sometimes just bothers me. Of course, the way his face looks when he doesn't say anything sometimes bothers me as well. I don't know what it is, there's just something about him I don't really like. I wouldn't say I dislike him overall or anything, in fact, he does fine, but the way he looks annoys me. The character of Ron is also a dork, but he doesn't bother me at all in such a way that Daniel Radcliffe as Harry does.

I liked the half-horse half-eagle Hippogriff. Something involving him surprised me though. ****SPOILERS****When he was sentenced to death for something that really wasn't his fault I thought, "No way will he actually end up getting killed." So I was shocked when he actually was. Of course, after they go back in time and change things he ends up not dying so then it was no surprise anymore. I didn't think they would kill him off for good.

Also, when Harry and Hermione go back in time and are rescuing Hippogriff, the other Harry, Hermione, and Ron would be atop the hill watching, so wouldn't they have seen the Harry and Hermione that went back in time rescuing Hippogriff? That didn't make sense.****END SPOILERS****

Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban was a big surprise for me. It was much better than I expected and easily the best "Harry Potter" movie yet. It's too bad Alfonso Cuarón wasn't doing the rest of the series too because without him and the new and improved vision he brought to the table, I don't think the others will be as good. Regardless though, "Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban" was superb and a real treat.

Grade: 8/10 (A-)


By comparison:

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone - 8/10 (B+)
Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets - 5/10 ( C )

By far the best of the series. It had the most intriguing story of the three, and I think the actors were very strong in this film, unlike the previous two, where they were just okay. The score is brilliant, and Gary Oldman is a great addition to the series. I hope the fourth film can be as great as this entry.

A

Very good movie (by far the best of the three Harry Potter films). I just watched this for the first time since it came out in theaters and there is no doubt about it...this movie looks absolutely great. Superb cinematography- the restlessly moving camerawork to the great visuals- all fantastic. The supreme darkness and murky look of the movie fits great with the overall tone of the film. The performances of the three leads are much improved over the first two films (especially Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson-both very good). They both convey deep emotion very well. The adult supporting actors were all fine as usual (David Thewis as Professor Lupin was GREAT and I actually liked the new Dumbledore). The music by John Williams, for once, was quite good. My only complaints are that the Shrieking Shack scene was a little too rushed and the final shot was kind of lame. But overall it is an exciting, moving experience with great set design and details- just a great time. Can't wait for Goblet of Fire. I got chills during the last "Expecto Patronum" scene. Amazing.

B+

Alfonso Cuaron is amazing. Made this the best Harry Potter film by far, and I really, really enjoyed it. It broke away from the rigidity of the first two, and made it feel like a real film with real flow. The going back in time bit is some of the neatest choreographed scenes I have seen in film. A strong B+.

PEACE, Mike

B


Well, despite having been disappointed by the first two movies my expectations for this one were quite big since it was supposedly much better than the first two movies and I was happy about a fresh breath of air with the new director. Well, in the end I was still disappointed, but only slightly this time. As a huge fan of the books, I still firmly believe that none of the adaptations so far has lived up to the books, neither was any adaptation able to capture the magic of the novels.

However, this one came the closest and was definitely the best in the series so far. It was better than the 2nd movie and vastly, vastly better than the first. The visuals were top notch as always and so was the casting. I was a bit surprised as David Thewlis was announced as Lupin, but he was pretty good, I wish he had more scenes. Gary Oldman makes an amazing Sirius Black. The animation of Buckbeak was great. Also the child actors have matured up a bit more once again and once again are better at acting, especially Daniel Radcliffe who I for the first time perceived as Harry by his acting, not just by the looks.

The score was great, as expected and the pacing was pretty good. However, they left out too much out of the book for my taste. I know, it was done in order to make the pacing of the movie better, but it's those certain small details that make up the magic of Harry Potter books to me.

In any case, the trend is positive with the quality of Harry Potter movies so far and I am really looking forward to Goblet of Fire as that is actually my favorite entry in the novel series. If it is even a bit better than Prisoner of Azkaban, I'll already will be very happy.

To prepare for the weekend, I'm bumping all three HP movies.

BJs Grade:

A-

Much better than the first two, one you could watch over and over agian, its a great watch

Wow! Just wow! Cuaron really captured what I believe is the theme of the book and he just cut out all unnecessary scenes to produce a tightly-packed, mysterious, creepy, personal and visual crisp movie with much improved performances. The world of this Harry Potter is a darker, more dangerous place, which is more worth-visiting than the others. A+

Ditto.

Joy

Really liked this one, although I wish the Marauder's Map and the relationship between the 4 grown men was explained more thoroughly, as it would have added more emotional depth.

A-

A

My second favorite film of 2004, it's actually pretty magical. It's the only film thus far to capture the feeling of the books, and... well... I think it's just as good as the book, if not a tad better.

A-

Best of the four, pretty easily.

Harry Potter III: Worst Yet!

This isn't a movie - it's a series of dull episodes barely connected by a simple minded screenplay.

Yipe! This one's really bad.

They've abandoned any kind of character development - for example Malfoy, who used to be a fairly menacing bully has been turned into a wimp who repeatedly runs off crying. Ron's role consists of making scared faces. I haven't read the books, but I've been told this screenplay ignores much critical plot and character development (at least this leaves me some hope that when I eventually read them, the books will be enjoyable compared to this lame-ass movie series). The only good thing I can say about this movie is that the set design is consistently good.

Don't be sucked in by the Harry Hype - stay clear of this stinker!

1 out of 5.

(Note: This one was so bad, I didn't even bother seeing Harry 4...)

The first 2 had nothing on this one, but it gets own by the forth IMO. Easily one of the best films of 2004.

A-

Let me reiterate what so many others have said.

Best Harry Potter movie

****

I think this is the 2nd best Potter film, with the 4th one being the best one. I believe it left out to much information and was a little vague on some parts. I think the 3rd book was the 3rd best of the series so far and I was a little dissapointed. But also the 4th left out many many things, but I found it more entertaining. B+