Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Fiml Review

Film Review 1

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third movie in the Harry Potter series.  Famous for being "the boy who lived", the orphaned Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his third year.  With Sirius Black on the loose, Harry is at risk for being attacked by one of the darkest wizards in the history of the wizarding world.  The plot thickens as Harry finds out that although he was the cause of Harry's parent's death, Sirius was his father's best friend, and remains his own Godfather.  To protect the castle, Hogwarts becomes home to dementors, who suck the happiness and souls out of anyone they plant their "kiss" on.  With Sirius on the loose, and the constant fear of dementors, Harry learns in his divination class about the dark omens facing his near future, and learns how to fight off dementors from his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin (who happens to be a werewolf).  After seeing Hagrid (Harry's friend, and the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher)'s pet hippogriph, Buckbeak innocently killed, Harry's real adventure begins with his best friends Ron and Hermione by his side.  After Ron is carried off by a wild dog, Hermione and Harry chase them, only to find out that the dog is none other than Sirius Black, who is actually innocent of causing Lilly and James Potter's death.  In fact, it was Peter Petigrew, who has been in hiding as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers.  When the full moon is revealed, and Lupin turns into a werewolf, chaos ensues as Pettigrew escapes, and Harry and Sirius are attacked by Dementors but are saved by who Harry believes to be his father.  Sirius is captured and is set to have his soul sucked out until the ever-wise Albus Dumbledore comes to the rescue with the idea of turning back the time.  Harry and Hermione go back in time to try to save two innocent lives and uncover the mystery of who really saved Harry and Sirius.  Because this is a film in a series, both character development and plot line were extremely important.  The series shows Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they mature each year, as was evident in the film.  Additionally, Harry's discovery of his Godfather and other discoveries about his parent's past adds to the plot of the entire series.

Not only was the story in The Prisoner of Azkaban impressive, and incredibly entertaining, but also the cinematography was outstanding.  One of the most entertaining scenes was at the beginning, when out of anger, Harry turns Aunt Marge into an inflating woman, who continuously expands and floats away into the sunset as Harry leaves his aunt and uncle's house.  Additionally, the filming of all of the flying and scenery around the castle is amazing.  And, of course, the special effects are outstanding to show all of the magic.  The lighting also added a lot to the film.  One prominent example is whenever the dementors come, the lighting is very dark, and all happiness is gone from the scene.  The cinematography in The Prisoner of Azkaban is quite possibly the best of all of the movies in the series.

Finally, my overall opinion of the film is very positive.  Although I may be biased because I love the books, it is not only the story that I love.  The film was beautifully shot, and although the plot was the main focus of the film, the cinematography greatly enhanced the film.  I would most certainly recommend this film to people of all ages for it's excellent plot and good use of lighting and angles.