Review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) by Thomas T — 14 Oct 2016

As a kid, I always thought of this film as the "okay" film in the franchise. Watching it again as an adult and watching it after studying about the director Alfonso Cuaron, I see it as an amazing film and one of, if not the best in the franchise.

You can immediately tell that this is a different take on Harry Potter than the previous two installments. Gone are the days of cute sorting hats and bright colourful quidditch games. This film is much darker in its tone, it's score, it's themes of redemption and sacrifice and even it's colour palette.

It's often very gray with lots of dark colours. The acting took another giant step forward especially in the scene in the Shrieking Shack. I also like how the finale is not some all out duel like the previous two.

Not that the other two weren't entertaining but this whole segment is suspenseful and intriguing. Overall, you can tell that this film franchise would change for the better once it was handed from Chirs Columbus (famous for his children's films like The Goonies and Home Alone) to Alfonso Cuaron, a director known for making violent gritty dramas in Mexico.

Someone with a different style who was more focused on the story, characters, acting, and scene direction than fan service. In the end, what he created is what most fans claim to be the best film in the series.