Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

[gelfling1220]

Well, due to a series of happy circumstances, I got to see one of the first showings of the third Harry Potter film last night - 12:01!

I had a great time! The film is in many ways very different from the first two, and as a result I like it in a very different way. There's more interesting music and camera angles (on the most part the cinematography was stunning!), the kids' acting is a little more developed and there's a lot more humor in spite of it being a darker film. Ron in particular had me laughing throughout.

Although I knew it was going to be more of an adaption than the previous films, I was surprised as to what did and did not make the cut. My friends and I spent a good amount of time debating whether or not we agreed with the choices they made in terms of story and pacing, but in any case,it should be interesting how they would make the following movies in light of this third one. I must say however, your experience is really helped if you've read the third book.

I hope people go see it, even if you're not a Harry Potter fan, even the CGI and visuals alone are awesome!

 

[tina_als_girl]

I too went to a 12:01am showing yesterday/night of June 3 (which, ironically, was the night of the full moon... spooky).

I absolutely LOVED it! Whereas with the first two movies, while good in their own right, I'm always checking my watch to see when they'll be over, I found myself so captured by the direction and visuals of PoA that the 2+ hours flew by. This was indeed a true example of the phrase, "Time flies when you're having FUN!"

Yes, I was at first a bit disappointed with some of the cuts they made, but I just read the HP issue of Entertainment Weekly yesterday, and they explain that certain backstory elements that were left out were cut because they felt it would better serve a later film (which I'm assuming is movie 5; I do agree that it may work better that way, especially for non-reader, but movie-watcher fans).

All my doubts vanished about David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, and as I never really got a real vision in my head as to what Sirius Black looked like, Gary Oldman did a sufficient job of giving me one.

You know what the best thing about this movie is for me? If I had not seen the initial trailer for PoA, I would never have picked up a Harry Potter book. It was that trailer that made the movie look so cool, that I figured I should read up on HP and get grounded in the fandom before seeing the movie. I am so very glad I did!

Joy

 

[leaper1]

Took my daughter to the 9am Friday showing - we waited for the crowds to die down.

She has read the books 6-7 times each, and at first was disappointed at the cuts - ("What are they going to leave out of 'Phoenix' if they chop this much from 'Azkaban'?) but in the end she agreed that the film held together quite well in its own right, and is already looking forward to the dvd release.

I went with some trepidation - the casting for Lupin and Sirius didn't bother me at all, but I have never liked Michael Gambon, and was dreading him stepping into the inimitable Richard Harris's shoes.

I have to give him credit, Gambon made a halfway decent Dumbledore, much better than I expected.

 

[Biridox]

Another midnight showing, here. It's the only way to watch a movie like this!

Minor spoilers below...
I was blown away by this one! The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book in the series, so I went into the theater with pretty high expectations. It didn?t let me down. It took a few minutes to get used to the new look (less of the bright colors from the first two movies, and cameras that follow the actors instead of staying mainly in one place), but once I did, I really enjoyed it! I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of explanation in the Shrieking Shack (the story behind the Marauders Map, for example), and I have the feeling that people who are not familiar with the books will be a little confused by certain aspects of it. Even so, I really enjoyed most of the changes that were made in the movie. Some of my favorite scenes in the movie were the added conversations between Harry and Lupin. Lupin was excellent, as were Sirius and Wormtail! And Trelawney was hilarious! I had my doubts about a couple of the casting choices early on in the production, but I should have learned by now to have more faith in the makers of these movies. Everyone was perfect for their role, in my opinion. I?ll have to watch it again, but this just may be my favorite of the three movies. I certainly liked it better than the second one!

-Biridox

Edit: Gambon as Dumbledore felt so natural to me that I accidentally left him out of my review. There were times when I could tell that Dumbledore was being played by a different person, but I think I like this more playful Dumbledore a bit better, anyway. The late Richard Harris was wonderful, but Gambon does a good job of filling Dumbledore's shoes.

 

[McDuck]

Another thumbs up for PoA from me! Some changes, I wasn't too thrilled with, but others have already covered them so I won't reiterate. Suffice it to say it involved things about the original Marauders.

 

[Al's Handlink]

PoA

I agree that they should have showed a little more backstory about James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettygrew, and the Map. They leave you to figure out for yourself that it was them that made the map and the rest of the backstory would have shown people who didn't read the book why Snape dislikes Harry so much.
But other than that, I thought that this was the best movie yet.

 

[DeadZoneLeaper]

Re: PoA

I saw it yesterday and I too wish it had more backstory especially about the Marauder's Map and about other characters who were animagus inclined (wont say it here to spoil for the non book readers)...The time really flew on this one...Harry and Hermione are getting attitudes, and Malfoy (despite his height and age difference over the others) really becomes a crybaby in this one...The last part of the movie really reminded me of Back to the Future Part II during the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance...

 

[McDuck]

Re: PoA

Yeah, don't you love that Time Turner?

You know it's funny.....I don't know if it's just that Rowling describes things so well in her books or what, but I am consistently amazed at how well the movies capture what I've been seeing in my mind's eye when I read the HP books!