THE CORPORATE LINE: Harry Potter and the gang are growing up and into troublesome teens that are continuing to think for themselves! Gasp! Along the way they manage to befriend magical creatures such as the Hippogriff, outwit snarling Professor Snape, and continue to dance the dance with ‘He Who Cannot Be Named” aka, Lord Valdemort. Professor Dumbledore’s favorite trio must deal with yet another Defense against the Dark Arts teacher – Professor Lupin, a new Professor of Divination – Sybil Trelawney, and the ominous threat of escaped prisoner, Sirius Black. Sirius is the only escapee, ever, from Azkaban and the man held responsible for the murder of Harry’s Parents when he was an infant. His escape brings not only Dementors – Guards from Azkaban who suck the soul out of you – but a reexamination of all that Harry has known…grab your wands, it’s going to be a bumpy night!
THE GOOD: The best of the Potter films thus far, with former director Chris Columbus stepping back to produce and allowing director Alfonso Cuaron to put his own dark spin on the puberty pangs of young wizards and witches. The story is JK Rowling’s strongest, playing on the ability of teenagers to question authority while clinging to what they know of childhood. Cuaron and his DP show us a familiar, but dark and haunting Hogwarts. Relying not only on wider shots, but on the growing skill of his young actors, this movie seamlessly combines effects with storyline – nothing is beyond possibility, and yet while everything is magical, it is more importantly – human.
Adding Gary Oldman to the cast as Sirius Black gives this film a weight and a validity that ‘grown ups’ will enjoy. He joins a stellar Who’s Who of British actors – Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), Alan Rickman (Snape), Dame Maggie Smith (Prof MacGonagall), Emma Thompson (Trelawney), David Thewlis (Lupin) all sent to guide Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron) through the halls of the famed academy.
The script is tight, Hermione gets a few ‘grrl power’ moments, and the wardrobe has been updated and streamlined to give the film a sense of the present. There’s some pivotal Quidditch action and Draco Malfoy gets a much needed ‘facer’ – what’s not to love?
THE BAD: Dementors suck the soul out of you, that’s pretty bad. Dementors are scary. Taking anyone under five years old to see this film will guarantee your child plenty of sessions on a therapist’s couch.
DVD FEATURES: Available subtitles: Spanish and French. Deleted scenes are included that still have the blue screen. “Creating the Vision” interview with J.K. Rowling and the filmmakers and interviews with the cast lead by Johnny Vaughan and the Shrunken Head and runs about 45 minutes. There is a cool featurette that shows the special effect of Lupin’s werewolf transformation.
There are a few games that can be played with the remote—not exceedingly exciting. There is also a preview of the game that will be released by EA.
FRANKLY: I thought this was the first accurate presentation of the wonderful world of Potter. I would not take young kids – if they can’t read the 700 plus page book themselves, they are probably not ready for the darkness of this film, but hey, I’m not a parent. It would be hard to classify this as a kid’s movie – I took a 36 year old who couldn’t stop talking about going to see it again and pay for it…a real recommendation.
It’s a film about the journey from childhood to teenager, and you do not need to click your heels three times to buy into the Potter reality. Everything about this film has upped the ante on the Potter franchise, it will be interesting to see what happens when Mike Newell takes the direction of the next film.
Whatever happens with the Potter franchise – I’m in. All I really want now is my own Nimbus 2000 and an open tab at The Leaky Cauldron.
+ Erin I. Quill
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