Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Review By Bawnian©-Dexeus

"Love Triumphs over Evil"

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film.

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón.

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis,Timothy Spall, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman.

Third year at Hogwarts for Harry and company. While the return of the dark lord lingers among the black magic, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban seeks to penetrate in impregnable walls of the school to seek vengeance.

Two years later after Chamber of Secrets, the franchise returns with more secrets, mystery and possibly, some closure for some of our wizards. Opening with Harry (Radcliffe) and his repugnant guardians, whom we expect him to have been rid of their presence after the disrespect and volatile nature they've expressed against him in the past, makes for an interesting character development and humorous spectacle, that takes "It's not over until the fat lady sings" to a whole new level. Now, I know many viewers aren't bothered by curse words, but at the time of the film's opening day, when Marjorie "Marge" Dursley describes Potter's mother as a "bitch", it took me a little by surprise. I'm aware it's another word for female dog, but a small unimportant detail. However, her blowing her up into a balloon was genuinely funny. Of course it shows that our main character has reached his breaking point tolerating their mundane punishments, and I found that it was about time he showed some back bone. Who knew a wand could be so deadly when threatened with. The next humorous step is the arrival of the Night Bus, with the shrunken heads and the goofy old man driving at an immense speed invisibly through the muggle world. "Take it away Ernie!"

The mystery behind the escaped prisoner begin to unfold when Mr. Weasley explains the truth to Harry about his parents death. The accused individual in question, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) was responsible for revealing the location of the Potter's. This disturbing revelation dawns upon our protagonist in a distasteful way that he basically blooms an interest to him later on, even though he's been warned that Black might be after him by orders of Voldemort. And why wouldn't he? With a discovery of such a magnitude, I to would seek some sliver of vengeance.

Ah, but this escape also sprouts the Dementors. Let's view them as the black ops police in charge of hunting down their targets. the year before it was the release of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and I chuckled a bit upon seeing these dark hunters for the first time, since it made me think that the Nazgûl were out of work and found solace in the Potter franchise. Moving on, while at first their only purpose in the series is to search for villains, they also serve a purpose in Harry's growth with the spell Expecto Patronum: Conjures an incarnation of the caster's innermost positive feelings, such as joy, hope, or the desire to survive, known as a Patronus.Thanks to the help of Professor Remus Lupin, he was able to dig deep and find that Love is the best weapon to cast the charm. Which brings me to the emotional development between Sirius Black and Harry Potter.

It turns out that Black is his uncle and the guardian he was meant to be with, but we later find out of his wrongful accusation. Black is that person close to a father Harry could ever have and he quickly creates a powerful an near inseparable bond to him. When his life becomes endangered in the final climactic moments of the film, the love Harry feels for him reaches a power so great, that when he casts his Patronus charm, it takes form into a beautiful white dear, which actually fits perfectly to the spell, since it symbolizes: gentleness, grace, survival, and sacrifice for the higher good. Such revelations that emerge in this installment make it for a powerful confrontation for our characters that simply helps us appreciate the films, despite their ever growing dark nature.

Severus Snape got more likable (although he's one of my favorites) as he at first feels to punish his students for blasting him inside the tree, but later changes his nature when they are threatened by the werewolf; we seem him prepared to protect them at all costs. Of course, it's a quality one would expect from all their teachers, but from Snape, for the viewers unfamiliar with the book, would find it surprising. Bravo Snake- I mean Snape.

The scene where the students are practicing the Riddikulus spell with the boggart. Releasing shape shifters into what the user fears the most. I buried myself into my seat at the moment anticipating harry to unleash Voldemeort in that moment. Too bad it was a Dementor.

The Actors:

Danielle Radcliffe: my only problem with his performance was when he discovered Black's involvement with his character's death. His anger was not convincing for me. Looked more like he was laughing than screaming.

Rupert Grint: His character was almost never useful here but only to produce laughter.

Emma Watson: More power to Miss Granger. Utilizing her acting skills to craft her character's ingenuity. Great work.

David Thewlis: At the release of the film in theaters, I hadn't seen this actor in a while since Dragonheart and Timeline. I enjoyed his performance as one of Harry's professors.

Michael Gambon: May Harris R.I.P. Gambon's selection was rather enjoyable, bringing more energy to the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

The director:

I feel that Alfonso took the helm at this third installment with hardly any trouble. He brought a new look into the world of Harry Potter with the same caliber as Chris Columbus.

The Score:

Oh how I love John Williams. His music got him both a Grammy and Oscar nomination for this movie. My favorite piece would be the coir singing Double Trouble. Especially the final lyric line that actually represents the plot of the film: :Something wicked this way comes!:

The Bad:

It felt as if the ending was rushed and the freeze frame of Harry on the broom was lame. Next we have the werewolf. What in the world was that? You call that a werewolf? Van Helsing took the cake for best werewolf that year I'm sure.

Overall:

Until the release of Deathly Hallows Part 2, it remains the highest critical praise of all the films, even if it's the least financial success. It deserves it's high critical praise.

Written by: Bawnian©-Dexeus.