Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Review: Peak Potter

Is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban worth watching?

Yes. Prisoner of Azkaban is the finest Harry Potter film, the moment the series found its own cinematic voice and proved that a blockbuster franchise could also be a genuinely personal piece of filmmaking. Alfonso Cuarón brings a moody, gothic atmosphere and a restless, inventive camera to Hogwarts, and the young leads respond with their most natural performances yet. The only real reservation is that its trimmed-down story leaves some of the book’s backstory unexplained, which can puzzle viewers who have not read it.

What is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban about?

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his third year at Hogwarts under a cloud. Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), a notorious prisoner said to be a loyal follower of Voldemort, has escaped from the wizard prison of Azkaban, and everyone believes he is coming for Harry. To protect the school, the Ministry of Magic stations Dementors, soul-draining guards of Azkaban, around Hogwarts, and their presence affects Harry more than anyone else.

With Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), Harry faces a year of new lessons and new dangers, including a kindly but secretive Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), a proud hippogriff named Buckbeak, and growing questions about his parents’ past.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a British-American production in English, directed by Cuarón from J.K. Rowling’s third novel, and it runs 141 minutes.

Cuarón remakes Hogwarts

The change is visible from the opening scenes. Where Chris Columbus’s first two films were bright and storybook-like, Cuarón’s Hogwarts feels older, wilder and more dangerous, with craggy hills, windswept bridges and a cold, grey palette. The students swap their uniforms for everyday clothes outside lessons, and the castle feels like a place where teenagers actually live.

The filmmaking is packed with invention. A breakneck ride on the Knight Bus, a flight on Buckbeak over the lake and the recurring seasonal transitions of the Whomping Willow are all delights. The Dementors, drifting like torn shadows and draining the light from every scene, are among the series’ most frightening creations. John Williams’s score, in his last work for the series, adds a medieval flavour that suits the new look.

Performances with new depth

Cuarón encouraged the three leads to act like real teenagers, and the difference is striking. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson are looser and more relaxed, and Watson in particular shines as a more confident, fiery Hermione. Radcliffe gives Harry a sense of anger and grief that the first two films only hinted at.

The new adult cast is superb. David Thewlis gives Lupin a gentle, melancholy warmth and a sense of hidden pain, while Gary Oldman makes Black a genuinely unnerving presence. Michael Gambon, stepping into the role of Dumbledore after Richard Harris’s death, brings a more mischievous energy, and Emma Thompson is a comic treat as the dotty Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney.

Where the trimming shows

The film’s brisk storytelling is mostly a strength, but some of the book’s explanations are left on the cutting-room floor. Key pieces of history concerning Harry’s father and his school friends are only hinted at, and the final act’s revelations arrive quickly, which can leave newcomers slightly bewildered. Book readers may also miss a few favourite scenes. It is a small price for a film this confident.

Who should watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?

It is essential for anyone following the series and a strong argument for adult viewers who have never taken Harry Potter seriously. It is best watched after the first two films, though its self-contained story makes it more accessible than later chapters. It is scarier than the earlier films, especially the Dementor scenes, so younger children may find it frightening; families with kids around ten and up should be fine.

For context on either side:

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the previous chapter, to see just how much Cuarón changed.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the next film, which builds on this one’s darker tone.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the series’ finale, which is the other peak of the franchise.

The verdict

Prisoner of Azkaban is the Harry Potter film that even sceptics admire, a dark, witty and visually inventive fantasy that transformed the series. Its compressed backstory is a minor flaw in a film that otherwise gets almost everything right, and it remains the benchmark for every Potter film that followed.

Rating: 5/5