Darkness Darkness dragging me down (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (DVD))

Member Name: dave27

Product:	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (DVD)
Date:	08/04/05 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dark and powerful

Disadvantages: dEMENTORS

PS First ... it's an AWFUL long time since I was last on here, but I've just found this category and saw my mate TheHUD had penned a review, so I had to do the same ... GLAD TO BE BACK


After the cartoon and sweets of the first two Harry Potter movies, it was always hinted that the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, would be very different. Created by a new director after the disappearance of the bland Chris Columbus, HP3 is much much (well, you know) DARKER…

It smacks a little of the feel of many of the best Tim Burton films, and there’s an eerie claustrophobia about the whole thing. True enough, the dementors don’t have the full, horrific intensity of the Black Riders from the first Lord of the Rings epic, but it was always going to be a difficult trick to match the original thought in J R Rowling’s mind.

While we’re at it, let’s get all the gripes out of the way. The werewolf isn’t particularly well done, Gary Oldman is a little off form and not as good as you would expect as Sirius Black, while the young actors don’t seem to be making much progress, and Michael Gambon is not a patch on Richard Harris.

However, those moans are a little on the harsh side, because all other things being equal, HP3 is a damn fine piece of work, with all the depth and menace which was somehow missing from the first two films.

It’s dark and cold and dank and creepy, with moody moments and is much more faithful somehow to the original than either of its predecessors.

I am not going to offer any spoilers here, and you will doubtless already know what happens with the book having been around for some years now, and in a sense it’s not the plot which is really important. Rather, instead, it’s the staging, the atmosphere, the acting and the special FX and the way the characters play off each other.

As I’ve said, I’m not overly convinced that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in the main parts are making enough progress, but certainly Watson has something special about her, which seems destined to allow her to go on to be a decent adult performer. Radcliffe and Grint are limited, however, and seem not to understand how to create any sincerity. That said, the cameos and extensive parts of a really strong British adult cast are truly wonderful.

Pam Ferris, Richard Griffiths, Oldman, Julie Walters, David Thewlis, David Bradley, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Mark Williams, even, Lord save us, Lenny Henry as a shrunken head, are wonderful contributors who bring authenticity, depth and feel to proceedings. How they manage to continually persuade so man y wonderful talents to come and play remains constantly beyond me.

The writing of J K Rowling is strong and powerful, clean and effective, and creates a wonderful backdrop for the action and Alfonso Cuaron brings an enigmatic mystery to proceedings.

This film, after the initial blush and flocking of the anoraks fades, is destined to become a true classic of English cinema, quirky and engaging with enough to repay even repeated viewings. I know that even after my first visit to the cinema, I had to go and enjoy a second helping pretty soon afterwards because of a lot of things I missed first time around.

If you were disappointed after The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets, please don’t give up. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is where the action really begins and things do start to pay off big style.

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