Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is probably one of the more divisive entries in the acclaimed young adult fantasy series due to its indecisive tone and somewhat middle child syndrome when it comes to the events of the plot. Some love how it eschews the traditional Harry Potter story structure for something more character focused and smaller in scale than pretty much any other entry in the series. Whereas some feel the exact opposite for those very reasons. Myself, I carry a slight bias because the man in charge of it all is one of my favourite filmmakers, but I do believe that Prisoner of Azkaban is one of the better films in the HP series; and here’s why.
The film kicks off in the typical fashion of Harry at the Dursleys before something awful happens to send him off to Hogwarts, however rather than being rescued as per the previous two entries he up and leaves of his own volition after inflating his aunt at a family dinner. From here he is warned that a serial killer, Sirius Black, has escaped Azkaban prison and is most likely looking for Harry as he is the man who sold out Lilly & James Potter to Voldemort thirteen years ago. On the way to Hogwarts the train is stopped by Dementors, the prison guards of Azkaban, to look for Sirius, but they attack Harry instead.
This sets up the basic plot of Prisoner of Azkaban pretty well and in a much more interesting fashion than the previous two entries where the conflict is addressed almost exclusively in expository dialogue. In this story Harry must find out why Sirius is after him, and how to overcome his fear of the Dementors which are patrolling the school grounds.
Alfonso Cuaron is a visuals first director. His films often have much more meaningful things to see than hear from dialogue and Prisoner of Azkaban is no different which is perhaps part of the reason why some people aren’t too keen on it. The dialogue certainly leaves a lot to be desired at times with some of it even feeling completely redundant in comparison to dialogue from the other films, but this is made up for exponentially with visual storytelling. Which is where I feel criticisms about inconsistent tone often fall flat. Prisoner of Azkaban marks a dramatic tonal shift visually from the previous two films with much of the colour having been drained away from it. Where Christopher Columbus’ films were warm with oranges and yellows, as well as generally bright environments; Cuaron’s film is much darker and unsaturated. This does occasionally play against the overall tone of the film however though with the story being generally whimsical for the most part, much like the previous two entries. But this darker shift really comes into its own come the second half the film when the pieces start to fall into place as to why Sirius has escaped from Azkaban and the connection, he shares to James Potter and the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. Prisoner of Azkaban is the first story in the series to really start to connect the dots with the pieces laid out by the first two entries, and as a result the final act is quite grim despite being the only entry with no presence of Voldemort. It's much more character driven than world driven and that really works in its favour.
The film kicks off in the typical fashion of Harry at the Dursleys before something awful happens to send him off to Hogwarts, however rather than being rescued as per the previous two entries he up and leaves of his own volition after inflating his aunt at a family dinner. From here he is warned that a serial killer, Sirius Black, has escaped Azkaban prison and is most likely looking for Harry as he is the man who sold out Lilly & James Potter to Voldemort thirteen years ago. On the way to Hogwarts the train is stopped by Dementors, the prison guards of Azkaban, to look for Sirius, but they attack Harry instead.
This sets up the basic plot of Prisoner of Azkaban pretty well and in a much more interesting fashion than the previous two entries where the conflict is addressed almost exclusively in expository dialogue. In this story Harry must find out why Sirius is after him, and how to overcome his fear of the Dementors which are patrolling the school grounds.
Alfonso Cuaron is a visuals first director. His films often have much more meaningful things to see than hear from dialogue and Prisoner of Azkaban is no different which is perhaps part of the reason why some people aren’t too keen on it. The dialogue certainly leaves a lot to be desired at times with some of it even feeling completely redundant in comparison to dialogue from the other films, but this is made up for exponentially with visual storytelling. Which is where I feel criticisms about inconsistent tone often fall flat. Prisoner of Azkaban marks a dramatic tonal shift visually from the previous two films with much of the colour having been drained away from it. Where Christopher Columbus’ films were warm with oranges and yellows, as well as generally bright environments; Cuaron’s film is much darker and unsaturated. This does occasionally play against the overall tone of the film however though with the story being generally whimsical for the most part, much like the previous two entries. But this darker shift really comes into its own come the second half the film when the pieces start to fall into place as to why Sirius has escaped from Azkaban and the connection, he shares to James Potter and the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. Prisoner of Azkaban is the first story in the series to really start to connect the dots with the pieces laid out by the first two entries, and as a result the final act is quite grim despite being the only entry with no presence of Voldemort. It's much more character driven than world driven and that really works in its favour.
I’ve previously criticised the performances from the child actors, but Prisoner of Azkaban is the start of where things start to get really good for them. Thankfully Cuaron ditched whatever dialogue was being written for Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets in favour of a dialogue that feels much more natural. Is it as faithful to the books? Perhaps not. But in terms of how people really speak to each other it seems much more natural. As a result, almost all the performances get a pretty decent improvement because they aren’t sounding like they’re reading from a book, but actually having conversations.
The casting of Sirius, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) are also fantastic. Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, and Timothy Spall each deliver fantastic performances as their respective characters and what a trio of beloved British actors to play them too. The scene in the Shrieking Shack in particular where Wormtail’s cover is blown is among the greatest scenes in the series history as the three actors give everything they’ve got. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint even standout in this scene thanks to how good the other three actors are! Their performances are elevated whenever they are in a scene with them and it’s truly a testament to the quality of actor these three men are that every scene they are in the performances from the other cast members are made better.
This is also the film where we got a new Dumbledore after Richard Harris’ passing. Now played by Michael Gambon, Dumbledore is now played in a slightly different way and it can certainly be something to adjust to. Where Harris was much softer in his portrayal of Hogwarts’ headmaster, Gambon is much louder and lively. As a result, Dumbledore can occasionally come off as a little harsh now, which many Potterheads will say is unlike his book origins. I do feel though it works with the transition from more whimsical stories to stories that are getting progressively darker in tone and content from here on out.
Prisoner of Azkaban acts as the tipping point in many ways between old Harry Potter and new Harry Potter. Where the former was more child friendly and had lower stakes, and the latter where darkness prevails, and stakes are raised to life or death levels every few minutes. Prisoner of Azkaban certainly has a darker visual tone and deals with some darker subject matter in the latter half of the film, but still manages to be a film for all the family in the process. Whilst I think Cuaron did a good job with this film I’m glad he didn’t stick around for anymore as I don’t feel he is right kind of director for these films. He certainly took it in a good direction tonally, but his reliance on visuals over dialogue does occasionally cause issues with dialogue heavy sequences. Overall, a great entry, but the best is still yet to come.
The casting of Sirius, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) are also fantastic. Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, and Timothy Spall each deliver fantastic performances as their respective characters and what a trio of beloved British actors to play them too. The scene in the Shrieking Shack in particular where Wormtail’s cover is blown is among the greatest scenes in the series history as the three actors give everything they’ve got. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint even standout in this scene thanks to how good the other three actors are! Their performances are elevated whenever they are in a scene with them and it’s truly a testament to the quality of actor these three men are that every scene they are in the performances from the other cast members are made better.
This is also the film where we got a new Dumbledore after Richard Harris’ passing. Now played by Michael Gambon, Dumbledore is now played in a slightly different way and it can certainly be something to adjust to. Where Harris was much softer in his portrayal of Hogwarts’ headmaster, Gambon is much louder and lively. As a result, Dumbledore can occasionally come off as a little harsh now, which many Potterheads will say is unlike his book origins. I do feel though it works with the transition from more whimsical stories to stories that are getting progressively darker in tone and content from here on out.
Prisoner of Azkaban acts as the tipping point in many ways between old Harry Potter and new Harry Potter. Where the former was more child friendly and had lower stakes, and the latter where darkness prevails, and stakes are raised to life or death levels every few minutes. Prisoner of Azkaban certainly has a darker visual tone and deals with some darker subject matter in the latter half of the film, but still manages to be a film for all the family in the process. Whilst I think Cuaron did a good job with this film I’m glad he didn’t stick around for anymore as I don’t feel he is right kind of director for these films. He certainly took it in a good direction tonally, but his reliance on visuals over dialogue does occasionally cause issues with dialogue heavy sequences. Overall, a great entry, but the best is still yet to come.