Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Aunt Marge is a welcome addition to the Dursley's. They needed some direct meanness to push Potter over the edge and show a darker side. And the intro is blissfully short too this time around.

It's a smart move to introduce Sirius Black in pieces through different sources and gossip. Not until past the hour, is the (alleged) full truth exposed, unfortunately in a very poor scene. And it takes another hour until the real truth is presented. The Dementors are CGI at it's best. Well helped by the direction of Alfonso Cuaròn (replacing Chris Columbus that directed the first two instalments) who takes his sweet time setting them up.

The characters seem to be getting better for every film, naturally. And this time the main new characters (David Thewlis and Gary Oldman) are tantalizing and central, bringing both relevance and interest. That they both provide very different father-surrogates for Potter is a clever bonus, and gives us a couple of heart-warming dialogues. Emma Thompson's Trelawney is a daft parody though. Quite astonishing that neither the director nor the actress saw how utterly stupid her scenes are. Rickman's Snape is now growing into a most delectable character. A worthy foe and big reason to tread carefully. As for the kids, this is the first time Radcliffe seems 100% at home. For some reason Felton seems to have lost his touch though, struggling with being an obnoxious teenager.

Unfortunately, Richard Harris past away in 2002, leaving the franchise with huge shoes to fill as Albus Dumbledore. Michael Gambon makes no attempt at merely replacing Harris, and his Dumbledore is much more feisty, sneaky and mischievous from scene one. No worries here, then.

The side-story of the hippogriff Buckbeak is quite smart also. Building on Harry's love of flight, the importance of being kind to animals and adding an interesting extra everyday drama in all the big lines. Generally, Cuaròn is very good at balancing the everyday struggles of a teenager with the huge task of saving the world from evil. The Marauder's map is another cool feature.

So all in all, this is perhaps the best film so far. The storyline is fine, the characters (mostly) great and it all flows beautifully. Another stunning end-game with several story-layers is a big bonus.

8/10