Review
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISIONER OF AZKABAN
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Opens Friday, June 4
Check listings
It’s rare that the third part of a cinematic franchise is superior to the preceding volumes, but in the case of the latest Harry Potter film that is just what has happened.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban charts young Mr. Potter’s (Daniel Radcliffe) third year at Hogwarts, where he and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) continue their study of magic. But before classes even begin, Harry learns that Sirius Black (an almost unrecognizable Gary Oldman), a powerful wizard who was involved with the deaths of his parents years ago, has escaped from Azkaban prison. To make matters worse, it appears that Black is on his way to finish what he started, by killing Harry.
The Harry Potter films have always had two things going for them. One, a rabid built-in fan base as a result of J.K. Rowling’s blockbuster novels, which proved that children will read if you give them something entertaining. Two, since the stories are set in the U.K., the cast can be populated with the finest of British thespians. Alan Rickman once again steals the film with limited screen time as the intimidating professor Snape, and Robbie Coltrane is as lovable as ever as the well-meaning but befuddled Hagrid. Here they are joined by Emma Thompson, perfectly cast as a flighty professor of divination, and Michael Gambon, who replaces the late Richard Harris as headmaster Albus Dumbledore (in truth his costume is so elaborate at times it’s tough to notice the difference).
Despite all these great performances, it is the acting core of Radcliffe, Grint and Watson that make this film. The third time out they are so comfortable in their roles that they wear them like a second skin. Grint’s Plasticine expressions of terror and Watson’s know-it-all delivery are staples for sure, but Radcliffe’s insolent take on Potter, as a young wizard coming into his own, is nearly perfect. Radcliffe does in one look what Mark Hamill couldn’t do in an entire trilogy and this is good news for the audience because he is in almost every scene in the film.
As much as the performances have evolved since the last movie, the filmmaking has done so exponentially. This comes with the replacement of heavy-handed director Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) with the deft eye of Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También). Incorporating handheld camera work and subtle transitions, he adeptly blends the terabytes of digital effects making Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a surprisingly organic experience. The Harry Potter stories have always been dark, but that never stopped Columbus from setting it against twinkling candlelight and brilliant blue skies. Cuarón’s palette is rainy and grey (although ultimately more beautiful than anything we have seen in the series thus far) and he uses it to build tension quite nicely. A few of the computer generated effects give themselves away, but there is so much attention to detail throughout the film that this is easily forgiven.
Ultimately, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is not only the best film in the series and a decent summer blockbuster, but a very good film without condition. If only more film franchises could keep this fresh, you might have fewer filmgoers so leery of sequels. |
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