HP Review: Part III

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(2004, Alfonso Cuaron)








New Faces

In this film we meet all of James Potters' chums: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. Proving that the casting director knows what she is doing, the three parts were skillfully filled by David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, and Timothy Spall respectively.

Thewlis does well with the shabby look and proves that he has bounce in his step and warmth for the perfect combination to play Professor Lupin.

Oldman does well in his own role as Sirius, in turn playing crazed animosity, jocularity, and embracing comfort. What a shame that only his voice appears in the fourth film, along with a poor imitation of his head in the midst of fire embers. And to show Oldman's versitility, compare haggard Sirius Black to clean-cut Jim Gordon from "Batman Begins" or "The Dark Knight." These two characters look almost nothing alike. Props to Oldman; he deftly portrays both.

And with his shifty, rat-like features, Timothy Spall is the perfect choice to play Wormtail. He also has the perfect squeaky whine to embrace the role.


Also joining the cast is Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore. Yes, we all miss Richard Harris, but I concede that Gambon does well with the role (at least in this film).


Acting

Just as Grint shined in "Chamber of Secrets," Watson takes over this film, showing audiences that Hermione Granger is no lightweight. This film shows that Hermione can both throw powerful punches and solve tricky puzzles (e.g. Lupin is a werewolf, or how to save Sirius). Therefore it is absolutely ridiculous that one of Watson's lines is "Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?"

This undermines the rest of the film, which clearly illustrates that Hermione is a strong woman. How infuriating that the scripwriters, or whoever thought that line was a good idea, felt they needed to shallow up her character. Even more infuriating that Watson plays Hermione as a full-out over-emotional girly girl in the next film (but more on that rant later...). Though Watson largely shines in this film, I cannot help but notice this one warning sign of her caricaturized damsel-in-distress routine, prominent in the fourth film.

Tracking Radcliffe's progress, he really does seem to be improving. One does have to question his "I'm king of the world!" moment as he rides Buckbeak for the first time. But the only lapse into unbelievable acting is the scene in which he hears that Sirius betrayed his parents: "I'm going to find him. And when I do [pant pant] I'm going to kill him."

And Grint is still top notch as Ron.


Glaring Omissions

The Marauder's Map is perhaps the coolest gadget that Harry Potter owns and this is the film in which it makes its debut. We learn that Fred and George nicked it from Filtche's office in their first year. We learn that the map was made by Misters Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. And we even get some clues as to who these four men might be.

However, it is a HUGE mistake on the editor's part to omit explaining who made the map and what the nicknames' significance are. True, fans of the series will already know this piece of information. However, not all members of the audience will be familiar with the book and not all of these people will put together the not-so-obvious connection. Audiences might wonder how Lupin will know if Harry does not return to his dormitory right away or that the map never lies.

How hard would it have been for them to include one three-minute scene with Professor Lupin explaining the map's makers to Harry? I suggest that one perfect option would be to add this little scene right near the end of the film, when Lupin is packing up his office. Here he returns the map to Harry. He could have easily also told Harry that he and his three best buds put it together. What a shame that this cool piece of info was overlooked.


Overall Rating: A (Perhaps the best of the first five films)