Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004, DVD)

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" is the third movie in the Harry Potter franchise, based on the very popular children's book series. Please do keep in mind that this movie is based on the book, which means that as good as the movie is, reading the book is better.

That having been said, our hero Harry and his school friends are entering their third year of education at a magical high school named Hogwarts. There is an undercurrent of fear circulating in the wizarding world, as a notorious killer has become the first convict to escape from prison and is on the loose. For the most part, Harry has a good year at school. He has an excellent teacher (who was also a dear friend of Harry's deceased parents), Harry gains possession of a magical map, and he gets to visit the nearby town on a day-trip. However, when Harry learns that the escaped convict (named Sirius Black) is suspected to be the man whose treason led to the death of Harry's parents, he becomes consumed with anger and revenge. Harry is other being bothered by another problem...terrifying spectral beings (called Dementors) whose job it is to hunt down Sirius Black...but they will attack any student who gets in their way (Harry included).

The first half of the movie sets the tone and mood and motivations, and the second half packs the punch. Director Alfonso Cuaron does a very good job of bringing to the screen the rather difficult and confusing concept of time-travel, in which the lead characters occupy the same time frame, but we see the action from a different point of view. The second half of the film has the most action, with chills, spills and spells...then we discover the important truth that "seeing is not always believing" and that not everything is as it appears to be. The end of this film draws all the characters even closer together in terms of a shared history and previous relationships and gets you excited for the next film!

The movie moves along nicely; the pace just at the right speed...not too slow and not too fast. Although it is not 100% loyal to the book, it does maintain most of the spirit of what the author was trying to convey. This is the first time we really get a visual look at just how large an expanse of land the Hogwarts school is occupying...it's just immense! I was not happy at the portrayal of the Dementor characters (flying around like Casper the Ghost) but that is a small complaint. I also felt that certain scenes were over-dramatised, just for the movie (ex. the Hippogriff-class) which may be exciting to watch, but I didn't feel was necessary to the story.

Now in addition to the way that the movie was written, I feel I mist also tell you that with this DVD comes a second "bonus feature" DVD, and it is EXCELLENT! Hours of behind the scenes information, interviews with cast and crew, games and trivia...the bonus material alone was worth the purchase price.

Whether you are an avid fan of the Harry Potter book series, or whether you have never read a book in your life, you will enjoy this movie. While it may not be approriate for younger viewers (slightly scary material) it is not profane, excessively or explicitly violent, or have any sexual content. It is rated PG, but even as an adult, you will like it!

I hope that this review was halpful to you. I feel that "review writing" has become a lost art. If you enjoyed this review or found it useful, kindly vote YES (it was helpful). Thank you!

I love the Harry Potter book series, and the movies are wonderful! Of course, it couldn't be completely true to the book without being four hours long, but it got close! The acting was great, and many of the characters were exactly as I imagined them! From Hermione's slightly superior tone, to Ron's hiliarious facial expressions, to beautiful Hogwarts, the movies are some of the best book adaptations I've seen!

We are a house of Harry Potter fans...right down to the toddler, who likes the fact that Harry 'talks like mommy' (the accent not the tone!!) and personally for us, this is the favorite of the series so far!
The Prisoner of Azkaban is perhaps the darkest of the series - albeit without the unsettling ending of Goblet of Fire; but the darkness is interlaced with humor and a good entertaining storyline!
We follow Harry, after a funny home based scene where he gets a tad carried away with some magic - with very funny consequences - back at school for his third year - and along with him, the regulars from the previous two episodes; his friends Ron and Hermione, along with new faces that take from a talented pool of actors - Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, to name but a few.
This time Harry is facing danger from a Prisoner that escaped from - and hence the movie's title - Azkaban; and with this, the school is surrounded by hideous creatures that seek the escapee - the Dementors!
We follow Harry through twists and turns, new magic tricks and new challenges, through an action packed two and a half hours, that remains entertaining through the whole duration!
I highly recommend this movie!

This by far is the best Harry Potter movie yet. Prisoner of Azkaban was also my favorite book, so I'm glad that they did justice to the book.

The special effects in this movie were great. The Quidditch scene was very well done, I just wished we had seen more of it. The time changing scene was also very well done.

One disappointment was that it didn't explain the significance of the creators of the Marauder's Map. It should have been mentioned who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs actually were. That's the only thing I didn't like.

If you're a fan of Harry Potter you'll love this movie!