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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Widescreen Edition)
- Color
- Closed-captioned
- Widescreen
- Dolby
Avg. Customer Review: 
 Anorexic
There are some sensationalist reviews here that believe the hype that everything Harry Potter is great and give the movie five stars regardless (the book was definitely a 5 starrer) but this movie ain't so great I'm afraid.Prisoner of Azkaban is my fave Harry Potter book so far (and was more than welcome after the weak Chamber of Secrets) but the translation from book to film loses 90% of JK Rowling's story. Every single second, every frame of this film is utterly devoted to being nothing but pure exposition for a plot that has no mystery intrigue. If you have read the book then there isn't much point in seeing this as you'll already know the twist. But I didn't want this to bias my opinion so I gave it a go anyway. As I have said, there are no subplots. Everything focuses on the Sirius Black story. Character development and mystery are non-existent. It almost feels as if Harry, Ron and Hermione are the only students at Hogwarts because no one else gets a mention and Draco Malfoy is reduced to wimpy, comic-relief. The strangest change of all is the presence of Dudley (a funny character) with NO dialogue at all. I liked Professor Lupin in the book, he was a rebel, renegade teacher who broke the rules and was one of the best mentors Harry has ever had. In the movie he doesn't do much and the character never really comes through. Same goes for Snape (a character I am liking more and more), he barely has two lines to say. Michael Gambon as the new Dumbledore is cool and naturally authoritive but he's got nowt to do either. Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawny has five minutes of screen time and Hagrid has two scenes. The relationship between every character and situation is very much defined in the book. In the film all of that is stripped away in order to tell the Sirius Black story as quickly as possible. Which would be fine if the Sirius Black story could make the film stand on its own. It doesn't. Alfonso Cuaron may bring a new look to the film and a more modern edge but I blame him and Steven Kloves for the hasty rearranging and muddling of JK Rowling's story. Sure, some sacrifices had to be made in adaptation. But Prisoner of Azkaban dilutes the story to the point of obscurity. The rumors of Goblet of Fire being released as two separate parts (ala Kill Bill) bodes well as it will offer the chance to tell a more complete story. But so far the Dursleys have been cut out and it will start with Harry already at Hogwarts. For a much more atmospheric and exciting mystery try Young Sherlock Holmes. A film with many alarming similarities to the Harry Potter world. This movie may look good with a new director doing a fresh take on the Harry Potter universe but there are so many restrictions weighing this franchise down and it's REALLY beginning to show.
 Best Movie of All Time
Alfonso Cuaron has created the best of all the Harry Potter movies. The acors and actressses have grown up and have done fantastic job. Steve Kloves has written an excellent screenplay and Alan Rickman is back and ready for action.
Disappointed
The movie was good and I do plan on buying it cause I want to own all of them but I was disappointed in the way the movie was done they left out alot from the book that I would of liked to of seen and the way they ended it was all wrong. They even changed the way Hogwarts looked, the scenery was different even Hagrids hut was different. I did not like this director who did this movie I hope Christopher Columbus comes back to do the rest of the movies. But I recommend reading the book for this movie it was much better.
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