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Back Shelf Beauties
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Harry Potter and Our wee little wizard is growing up so fast! And, like many teenage children, he is becoming quite the petulant, bratty little demon who doesn't do what he's told, won't clean up his room and wants to spend all of his time with his friends doing something mysterious. However, he's still lovable Harry Potter underneath it all, and his behavior is needed to solve the complex web of lies that is his life. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and all of Hogwarts Academy are on alert after infamous murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldham) - a man who played a part in the killing of Harry's parents - escapes from the impenetrable Azkaban prison for wizards and witches. Guarded by the fear-inducing Dementors, no one has ever escaped from the prison, and many think the ingenious Black is intent on killing Harry. Will Sirius Black find our hero? Is Harry doomed? Much like the child actors in the Harry Potter movies have grown up (along with the kids who read the books), this film and story have grown with them. Under the direction of Alfonso Cuaron, with a screenplay from Steven Kloves, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the darkest, best written and most entertaining of all three movies. With ultimate kudos directed to writer J.K. Rowling, this team has leapt into teen angst at just the right time with just the right touch. While The Prisoner of Azkaban ostensibly is about Black's hunt for Harry, it is also about growth, maturity and setting your own path in life as you enter young adulthood and discover who you are and what you want to be. While Harry has always been curious about his parents, past movies have shown this to be an escape fantasy and a way for him to imagine how everything would have been better if they survived. Now, he is starting to look inward and wants to know about his parents, their lives, who they were and how they lived, as well as his growing anger at the crime that stole them from him. They have become people instead of the idealized dancing couple in the photo. Cuaron brilliantly uses this device to show Harry's personal growth from childhood to young adulthood. Compare the first scene of Harry looking at his parents' picture against his reaction in the movie's ultimate climax and you'll see the new Harry. I like how the story has become more about the characters' experiences. Instead of having an adventure, the characters are living their lives complete with ups, downs, lessons to be learned and truths to be told. Kloves, Cuaron and Rowling show us how they are questioning authority, developing opinions about right and wrong, and more all within the context of the story. Unlike the previous films, the story serves the characters instead of the characters filling roles within the plot. It's like the characters are living a life instead of having things happen to them. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban also will be known as the one where the child actors turned a major corner and grasped command of their characters' thoughts and emotions. Much of this is professional growth and maturity, and part of it is Cuaron's ability as a director to get these emotions from the kids. Radcliffe is starting to express Harry's anger at losing his parents and getting stuck in that cold, unloving household under the care of his buffoonish and evil aunt and uncle, while he also shows how Potter is starting to master his amazing power. It all adds up to a young man who knows things can be better, and instead of suffering and crying, is starting to take action. Much the same can be said of Emma Watson's performance as Hermoine as she works harder than everyone else to succeed. Maybe it's because she will always be known as the "mudblood" and must show them that she is more than an equal? This is a story line that could be very interesting to follow through the next few movies if I am correctly seeing the hints. If I'm not, I'll just look like an idiot and you'll remind me about this review later. The material demands that the kids start to show some maturity, and they deliver. Even the special effects are getting better. Cuaron has delivered a movie that has an impact visually, which was my biggest worry when he was selected to direct. He is an accomplished director who knows how to tell stories and get performances from actors, but Cuaron had never made a huge, blockbuster film like this before. Thankfully, more than previous director Christopher Columbus, he strongly combines the special effects with a good story and excellent acting (have I mentioned the brilliant David Thewlis as Professor Lupin?). He understands how to use the special effects to blend into the story rather than making them stand out, as if he was screaming "remember this from the book?" The Dementors send chills down your spine with their ghost-like appearance and indifference, while magical figures like the hippogriff fire the imagination with wonder. With a movie that should have gotten a PG-13 instead of its PG, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is for teens and adults. I know this because one mother brought her 7-year old child to the theater and was sitting behind me while I was watching the film. The kid couldn't grasp the plot, had to ask mommy to tell her what was happening, couldn't sit still through the dialogue and got scared at the very scary parts. If you have a kid under 10, do everyone a favor, including your child, and seriously consider if they can handle scary, mature subject matter. 4 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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