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I remembered that I didn’t like this film as much as the earlier two, not because of the story or even the acting, but because it’s further away from the book. Apparently the director changed with this film. I could appreciate the scenery, which is stunning at times, and the focus more on outside scenes than inside ones. I was also impressed with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in their starring roles as Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Now thirteen, in the story, Harry’s voice is deeper and they’re all taller than they were; Ron, in particular, seems to have grown since the previous film. There are odd moments when they begin to be aware of each other in different ways, too: awkwardness after a hug, or when two of them find themselves holding hands. Harry is becoming a bit more outspoken, too. In the opening scenes, when he’s still with his awful Dursley relatives, he no longer holds his tongue, but does some illegal magic to make fun of his uncle’s aunt.
The main focus of the story is the escape of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) from the wizard prison, Azkaban. Rumour has it that he’s very dangerous; Harry learns that Black was a friend of his parents who apparently betrayed them. The authorities believe Harry is in serious danger. And that’s where this film really doesn’t work: there really wasn’t much tension. Yes, I knew the outcome, but that was true when we re-watched the two earlier films; yet I found them tense, at times wanting to avert my eyes as Harry and his friends are in danger.
With this film, however, there’s so little dialogue and such a rapid pace that there’s little time to feel any fear, or to become immersed in the film. If I had not been familiar with the story, I doubt if I would have understood what was going on. And while I understand the need to cut out some of the school scenes that don’t add a lot to the plot, I didn’t see why there needed to be such lengthy sequences of (for instance) Harry flying on a Hippogriff for the first time.
Worst of all, after the climactic scenes, which were done reasonably faithfully to the book, there’s no final heart-to-heart between Harry and Dumbledore. Without that, the ending feels abrupt, and we don’t see Harry’s increased understanding about what he has done.
Still, as a standalone film, it’s extremely well done. There's an impressive list of well-known actors, some of them taking fairly minor roles: Dawn French as the 'Fat lady' in the portrait is superb; Robert Hardy makes an excellent Cornelius Fudge, and I hadn't even recognised Emma Thompson as the exaggeratedly dramatic Professor Trelawney. In addition, Alan Rickman continues to play the dark, brooding Professor Snape, Maggie Smith is a wonderful Professor McGonagall, and Michael Gambon takes over as Dumbledore, similar enough to Richard Harris who played the role until his death in 2002, that the transition seems flawless.
I expect most people would understand the basic story. But as part of the sequence, it’s lacking the depth of the books. I would recommend watching it anyway; the scenery is well done and it was good to see more of the Hogwarts grounds. But after watching, if you have any interest in the overall story, it is definitely worth reading the book.
