Am I ever glad they sacked that sappy twerp who made the first two films and hired someone with some edge for the third. The Prisoner of Azkaban is ten times better than the first two Potter flicks combined – and it’s got Gary Oldman which improves anything ever put upon the screen. I fear for the next installment though, three kids that are obviously fifteen years old or older trying to play thirteen year olds just won’t fly. It won’t be the same without them.
Dark, fast paced, truly suspenseful: the book was my favorite of them all. The first book neccesarily delved into back story, examined the wonder of the world and set the stage. The second suffered from the typical sophmore slump, uninteresting, unengaging and nearly annoying. The third went on a tear, bringing out more of the secrets of the past and tearing into the story without slowing down for too much exposition – the fourth and fifth books have, so far, continued this trend.
The flicks have been much the same. The first dwelled on wonder, exposed the world and had lots of fun with scenery. The second was mostly boring, but the third – man, that’s what Harry Potter is all about. You know a film borders on greatness when even the end credits are worth sitting through.
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