Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I read in many comments that only now, thanks to the change in director, Harry Potter has got the true Potter atmosphere, that it has finally gone dark, and so on. Well, I think those are pretty misleading statements. After all, how could the previous two films have the atmosphere of Prisoner of Azkaban when they (like their predecessors) had basically nothing going in them that would require it? So in terms of atmosphere, I wouldn't say it's that much to Alfonso Cuarón's credit - he was just lucky to get this part. What is already to his merit, of course, is the film's thrilling pace, the omnipresent playfulness (the scene with the boogeyman, when the camera flies back and forth through the mirror, for example), the suspenseful, even horror scenes with the dementors, and the sensitive direction of the actors, whose heroes start to get beaten up by adolescence, but we don't stop liking them even for a moment. And then, of course, there are the new characters. Both Gary Oldman and David Thewlis are a joy to watch, and when they are joined by Alan Rickman in the Shrieking Shack, the film's best scene is taken care of. Finally, I'd like to mention John Williams' score - Prisoner of Azkaban is the last installment of the series for which he composed it, and he did an absolutely wonderful job. (07/09/2015)

Alfonso Cuarón managed to mix exactly the right amount of tension, emotion, fairy tale, and thriller to create a film that is suitable for essentially all generations, captures attention with its story and characters, and is also skillfully directed. Although the last two films were not bad, "Prisoner of Azkaban" simply could not be surpassed by any other. (29/01/2014)

Brilliant form with beautiful production design (the school setting, mountains in the background), much more detailed, elaborate music by John Williams, and individual pearls in the form of specific scenes in general. Harry’s flight on Buckbeak, for example, reaches the emotional heights of the best moments from of The Lord of the Rings. However, as the minutes passed, the story itself somehow lost its appeal for me. If it wasn’t for the delightful last half-hour, the film would have slipped into being slightly boring. But that’s not a criticism of Alfonso Cuarón, since he literally performed a miracle with a questionable screenplay. (18/06/2004)

The third Harry Potter didn't charm me either... But it was close. From a filmmaking point of view, it is definitely the best contribution to the trilogy so far – Cuarón works very well with the characters, has less cheesy color compositions and is more attached to the suggestiveness and impressiveness of the environment. From my point of view, however, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is brought down by an overly sparse and flimsy plot that somewhat dissolves in a number of episodes and bon mots. From this point of view, I considered The Chamber of Secrets a much more impressive piece. On the other hand, it is necessary to praise the excellent and variable music of John Williams, the acting of everyone except Michael Gabon (Dumbledore) and to highlight the fact that Harry Potter has ceased to be a shaggy child apprentice and is becoming quite a solid and interesting character. The literal and pandering children's film is turning into something quite impressive and dark... Cuarón did excellent job, but for me, The Prisoner of Azkaban is just a "solid" fantasy film that I would give 70%. (13/06/2004)

I will repeat myself again, I know that as an ordinary Muggle I have no say in this, but fire Radcliffe for God's sake! Although there are slight signs of improvement, he is still very weak and unconvincing especially in details, for example his acting while crying is a tragedy in itself. Moreover, his awful acting stands out in comparison with, say, the talented Emma Watson. But now to the better bits. I'm not going to join the rest with the notorious opinion of what a loser Columbus is (I wouldn't see him as that bad, just an honest craftsman) and how Cuarón, on the other hand, is amazing; they are just two different concepts. Cuarón strikes a darker chord (also thanks to an increasingly dense source material?), the dementors bring a needed light touch of horror and some scenes can give little kids a case of the creeps (keep it up). The Whomping Willow is awesome, Michael Gambon is an excellent replacement for Richard Harris, the visual effects are fine, the werewolf is sad. That’s it. Well, there’s something else. My desire for the Nimbus 2000 has passed, now I'm lusting after a hypogryph, model Klofan. (15/01/2005)