Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban is considered by many to be the best book in the JK Rowling series. The story is more leaner and darker then the previous two films and sees Harry return to Hogwarts to find that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped Azkaban Prison and is on the hunt for him. With Chris Columbus moving on to pastures new (even dropping his role as producer) it was the turn of Alfonso Cuaron to have a crack at directing the next Harry Potter film and at the time, made the best film in the series. Cuaron gives the film much needed flair and wasn't afraid to trim the story down if needed (one of the criticisms of Columbus's two films). The film is much darker, not just in the tone of the story but also in the colour of the film. However the sets are spectacular with the SFX given yet another boost in terms of quality.
Two new actors have joined the story, Gary Oldman and David Thewlis. Both are terrific actors and gives this film the life needed in what otherwise is a pretty dark story. Once again Radcliffe, Watson and Grint give good performances and seem to be improving after every film. Special mention goes to Emma Watson who has a much meatier role this time round and handles it really well. It's great to see the 3 grow up in the movies with all three reaching their teenage years, but also improving as actors. Daniel Radcliffe has spoken many times about the good influence Gary Oldman was on him whilst filming and in my view there's no better actor to learn from. When this film was released in 2004 it was hailed as the best film in the series to date with some people saying it's still the best one today (apart from the people who've seen Deathly Hallows Part 2). The SFX are even better this time round and is a much darker story. But this is still great family entertainment and will also be enjoyed by people who have yet to read the books. Just make sure you've seen the previous two before you settle down to watch this one.
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