After “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” came out in 2002 around the same time as Richard Harris’ unexpected death, Warner Bros. (WB for short) immediately commenced development of another film titled “The Prisoner of Azkaban” based on the third book of the Harry Potter series.
Released in 2004, (same year Spider-Man 2 came out) the third installment of earned positive reviews from critics. Unlike the first two movies, the third one didn’t surpass a box office record. It’s not a box office bomb, it managed to recoup the budget.
Although the third entry is one of the best Potter films, it remains as the most controversial in the Potterverse making the fans divisive about its flaws. While some defend it. I’m one of the fans who were appalled. Now that “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald” is out worldwide, I would like to share my thoughts on the worst entry in the series.
The following review contains pivotal SPOILERS. If you’ve never read the book or haven’t seen the film, read at your own risk. If you adore The Prisoner of Azkaban, please don’t grab your pitchforks and torches. This is just an opinion-based review in my point of view as a critic/fan.
Magical & Cursed Aspects
Magical: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson & Rupert Grint reprise their roles. They all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Returning Cast Members such as Alan Rickman, (God bless his soul) Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane & Tom Felton all did a decent job for their respective performances. Mr. Rickman deserves Bonus Points for his unforgettable role as Snape.
Michael Gambon did an ok job for taking over the late Richard Harris’ role as Dumbledore. Until something happened during the Third Act.
Newcomers to the Potterverse including Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson & Timothy Spall all did a great job for their respective performances as Sirius Black, Professor Remus Lupin, Professor Sybill Trelawney & Peter Pettigrew.
- Fun Fact 1 – Both, Gary & David went on to partake in DC Comics based films. Gary portrayed Commissioner Jim Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy & David portrayed a “mystery” character in Wonder Woman.
- Fun Fact 2 – This is the second time Timothy Spall played a rat related character since “Chicken Run.”
Chris Columbus serves as a producer.
John Williams orchestrated music for the film.
Cinematography looked fine without any technical problems.
My favorite scene in the entire movie is when Lupin teaches Harry, Ron and random students to face their bigger fears using a spell called, “Riddikulus.” That’s actually the name of the spell. Even Draco lampshades the whole lesson as ridiculous.
My favorite line from Snape is, “Turn to page 394.”
Warwick Davis’ character, Professor Flitwick, is heavily redesigned as a music conductor. I believe WB had to change Warwick’s look, because in the last two movies, he resembles a human Yoda wearing a green cloak in order to prevent a lawsuit from George Lucas. In the words of Chris Rock in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” “I think George Lucas gonna sue somebody.”
The first two movies were kinda like spy movies. This one’s a revenge thriller. Revenge thrillers were a trend back in 2004. Here’s a list of other works that share the similar theme.
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
- Kill Bill: Volume 2
- The Whole Ten Yards
- The Punisher
- Man on Fire
- Mean Girls
- Troy
- Shrek 2
- Spider-Man 2
- Catwoman
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie
- Shark Tale
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge
- Jak 3
- The Incredibles
- Blade: Trinity
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Tone is slightly darker than the last two movies.
There are some subtle pop culture references and stuff reflecting the real world back in 2004. Keep in mind, some are purely coincidental.
- A random student is afraid of snakes. A shout-out to Indiana Jones.
- Harry turns Marge into an inflatable balloon as in Large Marge. A visual stealth pun to “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”. By the way, Harry goes full “Mathilda” on Marge, because she played Trunchbull from Mathilda. Now that’s what I call a twofur.
- A schoolbook has a face on the front cover. Wait a sec, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2004. This confirms the Prisoner of Azkaban takes place in 2003-2004.
- Dumbledore’s adds a strict rule for Hogwarts to remain in lockdown. A reflection to the Patriot Act. The Potter films were around during the War on Terror.
- Dementors are similar to Nazguls from “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.” The video game, “The Third Age” came out the same year as Prisoner of Azkaban.
- A Sound Effect of The Predator’s pur is used for Buckbeak’s pur. An in-joke to “Alien vs. Predator?”
- Harry testing out Buckbeak’s flight is a possible shout-out to Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator.” Warner Bros. also distributed Marty’s film. I guess Mr. Scorsese visited the set to give the Cast and Crew tips on how to make a legit flight scene.
- Lupin’s fear is a moon, because he turns into a werewolf. “Van Helsing” also featured a werewolf.
- Harry uses his cloak to become invisible. Violet from “The Incredibles” has invisibility.
- Sirius is innocent and he didn’t commit a crime is similar to Sonny from “I, Robot.”
- The Trio, Sirius, Lupin & Snape enter the same room with Snape pointing a wand, turns into a Mexican standoff resembling Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” & “True Romance.” Gary Oldman also appeared in Quentin’s latter film.
- Lupin’s eyes turned green while turning into a werewolf. An obvious shout-out to Bruce Banner transforming as The Hulk.
- Harry & Hermione break Sirius out of prison loosely mirrors a familiar prison escape from “Shrek 2.” Except they didn’t go with the “Mission Impossible” cable drop sequence.
- Hermione owns an orange cat. Both, Puss in Boots and Garfield are orange.
I have to give this movie credit for encouraging Christopher & Jonathan Nolan by enlisting Gary Oldman as Commissioner Jim Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy after watching Gary’s performance as Sirius Black. I guess The Nolan Brothers are fans of Harry Potter.
The Closing Credits showing a map, looked creative.
Cursed: Alfonzo Cuarón (Children Of Men, Gravity) did a gut wrenching job as a director without thinking this through.
Nobody noticed Harry (in his invisibility cloak) stealing Neville’s lollipop. What I just saw, Indicates he’s out of character. As TV Tropes calls it, “Unintentionally Unsympathetic.”
Harry bursts into to tears like a five-year-old girl bumping into a school choir. GOOD LORD! Ron or Hermione need to give this guy a big cookie. Remember that time when Harry didn’t throw a hissy fit upon learning about his parent’s deaths?
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the equivalent of Batman’s Martha scene from Batman vs. Superman.
Harry shouts “HE WAS THIER FRIEND!” Was Daniel taking acting lessons from Hayden Christensen?! Dan, if you’re reading this review, do me a favor and go to “Lee Strasberg’s School of Method Acting.”
Harry seeks revenge towards Sirus Black. This isn’t the Harry we all know in love as fans. He’s a combination of characters who seek revenge of listed below.
- Harry Osborn Spider-Man 2
- The Bride – Kill Bill
- Frank Castle – The Punisher
- Creasy – Man on Fire
- Carl “CJ” Johnson – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Prince Charming – Shrek 2
As Snape points a wand at Sirus, Harry knocks out Snape. If I were in the Potterverse, I would’ve exclaimed: “Dude, you’re not Russell Crowe!” Even Ron & Hermione were shocked upon witnessing their friend’s behavior.
A Plot Hole involving a Time Turner used for time traveling. Why didn’t Dumbledore tell Hermione to use it during her first year at Hogwarts? OH MY GOD! Dumbledore is a lazy and selfish wizard! He would rather drink at Hogsmade instead of stopping an evil force! I have no choice but to subtract many points for nearly destroying the Potterverse’s mythology! It broke my Suspension of Disbelief!
Another Plot Hole involving Hermione’s lack of knowledge about the Time Turner. I thought she was the smart one. The third film made her a complete moron. Hermione is also unintentionally unsympathetic using the Time Turner for personal gain by making straight A’s.
A cheesy freeze-frame shows up at the end. Shrek 2 did a better job using freeze-frames during a dance party sequence! Heck! Spider-Man 2’s “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head montage was funnier!
The Final Verdict: C-
Hate to break it to ya, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is basically the weakest installment of the Potterverse. No wonder it didn’t surpass the first two movies’ box office records. I am mortified as a fan that this threequel is one of the best installments of the Potterverse. Looking back at Prisoner of Azkaban is the equivalent of witnessing a monkey stealing Bill Murray’s egg, he puts it in his mouth, spits it out, lands on filth and then Bill eats the egg. You don’t get it? It’s from “Osmosis Jones.”
J.K. & WB I don’t mean no disrespect towards ya. to paraphrase Alex the Lion’s quote from “Madagascar.” “You bit the hand J.K. & WB, you bit the hand!” The Goblet of Fire managed to improve the storyline in terms of positive elements. Which means I forgive J.K. & WB. If you have the guts to watch The Prisoner of Azkaban, so be it.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 