 THE MOVIE
Harry Potter enters his third year under new and one-off director, Alfonso Cuarón. Along with him comes the new Dumbledore played by Michael Gambon, who does a fine job of it with the shoes of Richard Harris to fill. This time around, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has to deal with the talk of a murderous madman named Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who has escaped from Azkaban Prison. It seems Harry is particularly vulnerable to his escape, as Sirius apparently had his hand in the murder of Harry's parents by pointing their whereabouts out to Voldemort. With the escape of Black, Hogwarts plays host to the Dementors - creepy, cloaked figures who feed on happiness, and thus cause despair to those they effect as well as the potential sucking out of souls. They are also the guards from Azkaban, and with Black at large, they are sent to float around the outskirts of Hogwarts and guard it from Black. Meanwhile, a new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts is employed, named Remus Lupin (David Thewlis). He eventually develops a report with Harry. We are also introduced to the Divination professor, Trelawney (Emma Thompson), who forewarns Harry about a perpetual death omen. Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) has been promoted this year as the new professor for Care of Magical Creatures, as well. It seems this is the first year the trio doesn't go looking for any sort of trouble for the better of the school, which is something I enjoy about this chapter in the saga. It remains one of the darker stories, but it's more about Harry staying safe and going to his classes than him looking for adventure. And that helps make room for interesting new classes like Care of Magical Creatures, where we get introduced to a Hippogroff (eagle/horse hybrid). I think the best thing the movie took from the book and made its own was the concept of time travel. Without going into too much detail and potential spoilers, the movie adds a detail about the idea of time travel that the book doesn't. It's a little adjustment, and doesn't ruin anything at all. If anything, it adds to it. I have to admit though, I used to claim this as the best overall movie in the series. Upon re-watching it though, I caught a few things I didn't like about it. The biggest thing is that conversations seem to just appear out of nowhere here with no real beginnings. Example - when Hermione says "I think they're funny", she's referring to the Monster Book of Monsters (quoted by Hagrid in the book), but when she does it, she has this stern look on her face like she's really making a point about it, and her foot is down on the subject. The way it's acted out makes it look like there was something I missed. Or how about later (potential spoiler, sorry) when Hermione tells Lupin "I trusted you!"? Not an incomplete conversation, but what the hell sense did it make for her to say it? Anyone who has read the book or watched the movie should kinda connect that it ought to be Harry that says something like that. In fact, I'm quite sure he DOES in the book. Now, those are nitpicks, but with this movie also comes the first time massive cut-outs were done. The first two films got away with more or less just being a visualization of the books. They could get away with a few changes, and it wasn't entirely bothersome. But this is the first time significant things got the axe. I'll get to that in the comparison, but it's enough that my opinion of this film has dropped quite a bit. 3.5/5 COMPARING THE BOOK As I said in the review portion, some significant stuff from the book got cut from the movie this time around. I would say two major things, but only one of them truly significant. Quidditch actually ends up playing a more significant role in the book. It's Oliver Wood's last year, and last chance to win the Quidditch Cup for the school. In the movie, we see the match the Gryffindors have against the Hufflepuffs (by the way, that seeker who gets hit with lightning in the movie is technically Cedric Diggory) but that's it, because that match actually was significant to drive the story. But what they do leave out is that the Gryffindors actually do get to the final match against Slytherin, and it's actually a pretty intense game. It should also probably be pointed out that Harry's Firebolt broom is given to him at Christmas in the book as opposed to the end of the year. It's a shame the Quidditch stuff got chopped, being that it ends up being a pretty significant moment in the end. Oh, and Cho Chang is also introduced in the book as the Ravenclaw Seeker. (Cedric and Cho will be seen in the next movie in case you don't know who I'm talking about) The second, and more significant change is the Marauder's Map. The names "Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs" are on the map in the movie, but we're never once told the significance behind the names. This significance is dished out nearing the end of the book, but there's a whole backstory to it that includes Harry's Dad, Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Why they didn't add it when all the pieces were there is beyond me. It's really quite a touching story, so if you're curious, check out this link. Aside from those two sort of gaping things, the movie does a pretty good job of things. For me, though, I have to remain a bit upset about the lack of story behind the map. It really could have made things a bit more touching than they ended up being in the end.
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