Awesome. Spectacular. Stunning.
Okay, I think with those words you probably know how I felt about the new Harry Potter movie. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first two. I thought they were great starts at initiating a wider audience to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. But this new chapter in the Harry Potter saga (at least when dealing with the movies) was a mind blowing experience. From the first frame I could tell that it would be a different interpretation of J. K. Rowling’s world. The cinematography alone was outstanding. The way that Cuaron was able to put the movie together made it more captivating than the first two and move at a faster pace. There was never really any downtime in this film. Steve Kloves did a fabulous job writing the script.
The Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favorite book of the saga, so I was anxious about how this movie would be. So much occurs in this book. It is a turning point in the Potter saga. Voldemort is no longer the only enemy that Harry faces. We learn more about the death of Harry’s parents and the wizarding world. The book also delves into the relationships between Harry, Ron and Hermione. And we meet some very important people, who will have a great impact on the next couple of books (yay, Sirius and Lupin!). Would this film do it justice? My answer to that question is yes.
Cuaron’s vision of Hogwarts was more realistic than that of Christopher Columbus. The dark and dreary look of the sets created the atmosphere that was needed for the movie. The third book is much darker than its predecessors, setting the mood for the next two books. The new layout of Hogwarts reflected this in the almost gothic architecture of the clock tower. The relationships between the characters seemed to be real relationships. Instead of simply reciting the lines and movements that they were given the children seemed to actually be acting! The conversations that the students had with one another as they moved through the hall and during the first Fat Lady scene showed the kids being kids. They joked around with one another. They antagonized one another (“Dementor!” Malfoy and the gang then going “Oooh.” Haha!) They acted like kids their age should act.
The special effects were a step above the other two films. Whoever created Buckbeak should win an award for the brilliance behind it. Never once did I think that Beaky was a computer-animated image. He moved on the screen as though he were really there. The werewolf, well, it was a great special effect, but not really the werewolf I had imagined. It was decent and the scenes with the werewolf were done very well, but aren’t they supposed to be hairy?
The acting ability of the kids has improved greatly with each movie. They are able to play off one another in their scenes, though there is still some room for improvement. The new cast members did a superb job with their roles. Emma Thompson was great as Professor Trelawney. She looked as batty as she appears in the books, though I do wish she had said the prophecy from the book. David Thewlis’ Lupin was as compassionate as I had imagined him to be. And the boggart scene with him was hysterical. Did anyone else pick up the song Swing, Swing, Swing, from another of John Williams’ movies? Gary Oldman embodied Sirius Black. He was able to play him perfectly as both a raving madman and the not-so-raving man. Michael Gambon did a nice job with Professor Dumbledore. I think that he was able to show some of the qualities Richard Harris’ Dumbledore lacked. Put the two together and then I think we would have the true embodiment of Dumbledore.
My one great criticism would be where the hell was Oliver Wood?!? Dammit, this was the last book he was really in, and I wanted to see him! Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup, this is a big deal. Not entirely important to the story but still, I had to deal with no Sean Biggerstaff (who plays Wood). Ah, the sacrifices.
But, beside the fact that there is no Sean Biggerstaff, the movie was a great adventure ride. And really, I could write more, but I think I’ll go and see it again instead.