 At just 141 minutes it's much more bearable than the last two Potter films (not a numb bum to be found), but without director Chris Columbus on board, it doesn't feel like part of the same series somehow!
Now, I'm not saying it's a load of old rubbish
director Alfonso Cuaron (who's responsible for the spectacular 'Y Tu Mama Tambien') does a great job of giving this film pace and adding plenty of thrills along the way
and it's still as enchanting and mystical as its predecessors, but it's certainly missing something. However, it's a little difficult to pin down exactly what that 'something' is! I suppose it's lacking some of the detail that J. K. Rowling's book contained, but then again would that have made it overly long? Who knows? My main problem, however, was with the actors, specifically the three main characters. Although they've matured, they don't appear to have blossomed. Daniel Radcliffe was his usual wooden-self, Rupert Grint (who was nothing short of fab as Ron Weasley in Potter's 1 and 2) just didn't have his regular sparkle and Emma Watson was just
well
miserable and moody
and I certainly don't remember her character Hermione being like that in the book! Overall considering they're supposed to be three bosom buddies, they didn't even appear to like each other. In fact, I think they showed Tom Felton's character, Malfoy, more love than they showed each other! They just didn't gel at all. Have I made my point yet? Anyway
'Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban' sees Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now in his third year, as well as trying to make sense of Hermione's disappearing and reappearing acts, he's also doing his best to unravel the dark mystery which surrounds the infamous Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). Along the way he's tormented by the deadly, soul-sucking Demontors (the special effects here are amazing by-the-way
even though we have seen this sort of trickery before), and there's the usual display of weird and wonderful creatures, mainly care of Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). Overall, if you're a Potter fan it's certainly worth watching, but I wont lie
it's a bit of a disappointment I'm afraid and certainly won't go down as one of the greatest films of its time, despite the fact that so far, it's been a box office blockbuster! Don't miss our films section! You know you wanna have a nosey at it! The views expressed on this page are those of the contributor and the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the BBC. | 
