HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN Review – Daniel Radcliffe d: Alfonso Cuarón

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004)

Direction: Alfonso Cuarón

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Julie Christie, Pam Ferris

Screenplay: Steve Kloves; from J.K. Rowling's novel

Oscar Movies

Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Alfonso Cuarón may have seemed like an odd choice for director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment of the Harry Potter series — if one thinks only of Cuarón’s sleeper hit, the Truffaut-esque Y tu mamá también, while ignoring two of his earlier efforts, the critically acclaimed A Little Princess and the moderately respected Great Expectations.

This time around, working with a reported $130 million budget, state-of-the-art special effects, and the Harry Potter franchise, Cuarón surely could do no wrong. At the box office, that is. For although Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is stylistically superior to Chris Columbus' previous work in the series, this latest Harry Potter is also a major artistic letdown.

Admittedly, Steve Kloves' haphazard screenplay adaptation is mostly to blame for the film’s failings, since those who haven’t read J.K. Rowling’s bestseller will probably be left as dazed and confused as I was while attempting to follow the myriad twists and turns of the plot. It goes something like this:

After a particularly bizarre family confrontation, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) heads back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once there, Harry, now a full-fledged bespectacled teen, discovers that the evil Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from the prison of Azkaban after 12 years of incarceration. Black, everyone says, was the murderous right-hand man of the dark wizard Voldemort, and sooner than you can say "Wingardium Leviosa," the evildoer is roaming the corridors of Hogwarts, apparently seeking to avenge his fallen master by killing little Harry.

Besides having to handle the usual snotty school bullies, keep up with his Hogwarts duties, and remain alive, Harry must come to terms with his feelings of parental loss when he learns that Black was to blame for his parents’ death. And if that weren’t enough, the troubled teen has to fend off the creepy Dementors, lizard-like flying creatures who have been called upon to protect the school and whose favorite pastime is to suck away Harry’s life essence.

In order to get through this series of ordeals, Harry relies on the moral (and physical) support of his two buddies, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), and on the help of a mysterious teacher, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), who seems to know more about all that is going on than he cares to admit.

I don't know about the other characters, but Remus surely knew more about what was happening on screen than I was. Compounding matters were John Williams' bombastic score and the sight of a veritable parade of renowned British actors wasted in ineffectual roles or minuscule bits. Even though Cuarón may not have been responsible for the picture’s final edit and for all the emoting faces left on the cutting-room floor, he’s certainly to blame for allowing Gary Oldman to devour the scenery with more gusto than the meanest of the Dementors, and for letting Emma Thompson give what may well be the worst performance of her distinctive career.

Yet, Cuarón’s biggest failure is that he has directed a movie about magic whose magical moments are made up solely of special effects. And without a soul to bring it to life, CGI is merely what the abbreviation means: computer-generated imagery.

For Cuarón-generated magic, check out the second half of Y tu mamá también.

Note: A version of this Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban review was initially posted in October 2004.