t is a dark time for Harry Potter (Radcliffe). Having inadvertently inflated his odious Aunt Marge (Pam Ferris), Harry has left the Dursley's Privet Drive house, only to be picked up by the triple-decker Knight Bus.
After a hair-raising trip through London, Harry arrives at the Leaky Cauldron, where he is taken in by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy). Curiously, Harry suffers no punishment for his misuse of magic. But when the Weasleys arrive as well, Harry learns the reason: His life may be in danger. Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), a powerful and deranged wizard, has escaped from notorious Azkaban prison.
Mr. Weasley (Mark Williams) tells Harry that Black was the man responsible for the death of Harry's parents at the hands of you-know-who. And he may now be after Harry.
On the Hogwarts Express, in the company of his best friends, Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson), Harry grows alarmed when the train suddenly stops. The lights go out, and a dark, spectral presence opens the compartment door. Harry hears screaming just before he passes out.
Professor Lupin (David Thewlis), the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, revives him and explains that the spectre was a Dementor, one of the soul-sucking guardians of Azkaban. They are on the hunt for Black. But that screaming Harry heard? It may have been the voice of his mother as she was murdered, conjured up from some dark place in Harry's memory.
Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, are arguing. Ron fears that her cat, Crookshanks, may be after his rat, Scabbers. But is something else going on?
Later, the Dementors descend on Hogwarts. It seems Black is in the vicinity. The school goes into lockdown. Harry is eager to confront Black, angry over his role in the death of his parents. But will he be ready when the time comes?
More magical than ever before
The third film in the phenomenal Harry Potter franchise arrives under the helm of a new director, Mexican-born Cuarón (Y tu mamá también), and his magic touch transforms the series into something altogether wondrous. Cuarón's dark, quirky and strikingly original sensibility is 180 degrees different from that of Chris Columbus, the family-friendly helmer who directed the first two Potter movies, and he was the perfect choice for Azkaban, which takes the story into more complex territory.
The differences are evident from the very first frame of the movie. The scenes in the Dursley's Privet Drive house contain the raw, realistic energy of mamá, shot with hand-held camera and natural light. Once in Hogwarts, the movie opens up expansively, with many scenes shot in the Scottish highlands. Throughout, Cuarón makes sure use of a fluid, moving camera, imaginative lighting and tight editing to keep the movie dynamic.
But the real improvement is the firm way Cuarón and writer Kloves have streamlined Rowling's Azkaban story down to its essence, creating a muscular narrative with real momentum that packs great emotional resonance. Potter purists may quibble with the changes, but Azkaban feels like the first Potter adaptation that is truly a movie, not a slavish imitation of a book.
Cuarón also demonstrates that he has a way with young actors, as was evident in tu mamá and the more traditional A Little Princess. Radcliffe, Grint and especially Watson, now teenagers themselves, show that they have matured as actors, offering more naturalistic performances, and with Cuarón's help, conjuring up the real magic in the film.
