Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) is a terrific installment in the franchise. This film continues a trend of darker content as we continue to uncover more about Voldemort's followers and the past. Read here how Harry handles the new year at Hogwarts!
Harry Potter is entering his third year at Hogwarts. Notorious murderer Sirius Black has escaped leaving everyone afraid, and the students have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Harry runs away from home because of Aunt Petunia who is just the worst kind of person. Watching her balloon-like a pufferfish was satisfying. Then, he gets picked up by the bus for stranded witches and wizards. It is a cool scene seeing how it gets around, and it is a great way to see the mind of the director Alfonso Cuaron (director of Oscar-nominated Roma). This scene shows the difference between him and Chris Columbus who was the previous movie director. He shows a bit of campy humor shifting the approach or feel of what to expect in this film.
A memorable scene involves the Hogwarts Express. It is halted to look for Sirius Black, and the Dementors come aboard. It can be a creepy scene for a kid, and I was no exception. We are also introduced to Professor Lupin here (David Thewlis).
He is the best dark arts teacher Hogwarts has to me in this series. Lupin seemed to know how to reach the kids and where to draw the line when necessary. Plus, being a werewolf is pretty interesting.
We have a new Dumbledore actor in Michael Gambon due to the unfortunate death of Richard Harris. He does a great job filling in for an important role. Other parts of the movie are worth mentioning including the Book of Monsters, first look at the Minister of Magic, Buckbeak, Malfoy continuing being Malfoy, the Marauders Map, and the song Double Trouble. I mention the song because I have sung this choir tune at Universal Orlando (directed by Flitwick who is the head of my house Ravenclaw). The train ride at the theme is great, so do that if you ever head that way.
Gary Oldman as Sirius Black is brilliant casting. He's an amazing character actor, and this role strengthens his already impressive resume. Also, this film handles time travel better than nearly any other film I've seen. It's super tricky to fill in the plot holes of time jumping, so they leave it vague on purpose. This movie includes its share of cinematic shots too especially with the snow in Hogsmeade which I couldn't find an image of on Google 0r IMDB :(.
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