I freely admit that I’ve not read the Harry Potter books so I can’t say if Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a faithful adaptation of the novel or not. What I can say, though, is that this film both exceeds and doesn’t live up to the previous two installments in the Harry Potter series.
Much has been made of Alfonso Cuarón taking over from Chris Columbus as director. Much has also been made not only of the edge of puberty on which both the characters and the actors who play them teeter but also of how that transition will be handled. It is definitely true that the actors are keeping pace with the characters’ aging: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) may develop into a leading man if he can overcome his association with Potter; Rupert Grint (Ron) has the potential to be a long working character actor; Emma Watson (Hermione) is going to be a heartbreaker in about six years. Both the characters and the actors face a relatively dangerous time, a time when desires conflict with increasing adult responsibilities, when the choices made have the potential to affect the rest of one’s life. And while Cuarón has taken the necessary step away from the confection of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) he doesn’t fully capture that feeling of confusion that is being thirteen.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban opens with Harry stuck yet again with his ghastly aunt and uncle. We soon discover that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman doing his best unwashed crazy), imprisoned for his part in Harry’s parents’ death, has escaped from Azkaban prison. The adults associated with Hogwarts are united in their thought that Black will come for Harry. In the meantime, Harry and Hermione are both up to a bit of mischief of their own, Harry’s coming in the form of the Marauder’s Map, the neatest set piece of the film, which shows the location of everyone within the map’s range.
Cuarón’s film captures a bit of the turbulence inherent in being a young teenager. It’s quite apparent in the sometimes strained relationship between Ron and Hermione as well as Hermione’s burgeoning sense of her own power. In this character development Azkaban far exceeds the first two films. In many ways, though, by skipping the wonder of the world of Hogwarts, by skipping the frippery involved in Rowling’s brand of magic, this film is much flatter than Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets. Less than satisfying, as well, is the way this film ends. It’s as if the film makers couldn’t figure out how to resolve a story that clearly continues on to the next book.
All in all, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a tasty bit of sugar even though it doesn’t live up to its hype. For that, for the amazing Marauder’s Map, and for the absolutely irritating “Wanted” poster of Sirius Black, which appears in nearly every scene in the first 20 minutes of the film, I’m giving this film 3 out of 5 popcorns.
