Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

You know, it's hard to be hard on a movie you enjoyed. It really is. So I don't know how quick with the quips I'm going to be this evening, but I do know I need to say something.

And, Lord knows, I really did try to find something really bad about this motion picture, I really did. But the mere fact that my mind didn't wander off or I left prior to the credits is a good sign.

Again, I'm baised. I did not read all of the Harry Potter books. Fantasy is not my thing. I'm more of a Steve King, Ann Rule and Laura Joh Rowland kinda guy. But when I heard all the conservative groups leap up in arms years back about these books possibly teaching black magic to children, I knew I would have a liking for them. BTW, they don't teach black magic. However, if you do listen carefully, Latin is thrown in.

I'm part of that group that believes if a kid is reading, like real words on real pages in a real book...let them.

I read the first book and that was it, so I arrived at this motion picture with only the knowledge of the previous two films. And here is place were familiality does not breed contempt. The storyline has grown accustomed to itself. There's not a single moment with some special effect illustrating the prevasiveness of magic in Harry's world. Posters move in the background; tea serves itself. And in the process, we can move on to the interactions and the story, instead of wondering about the details.

And what a story it is. If you've looked at the poster advertisting the movie, it's different from the previous two pictures. Blackness envelopes the leads and instead of illustrated characters, black and silver photo headshots fill the frame. It's an apt analogy. The characters seem a little more real this time and the threat of conflict is much more pervasive.

Little Harry takes on a new director with this movie--and he's an art-house gem. And he's making Little Harry grow up.

Take, for example, the required Quidditch game (rugby on broomsticks). In this movie, it's played in the grays of rain with horrid nightmares called Dementors floating above. Hermione has lost her innocence and now relies on punching a bully in the face instead of sly, plotting and manipulation. These are all incidents that represent a darker vision. I can assume that those who have read Harry's tales are growing up as well, so such changes are reflected in the books. But for the audience, the experience is a bit jarring. It's like bringing kids to see Bambi and getting the last few minutes of Chernabog. The quality is the same, but the emotional reponse was not pre-prepared.

My experiences with kiddie literature are fairly expansive--and this movie played along with what I've noticed about the greatest of children's stories. First off, tragedy always isolates the protagonist and helps him or her develop on their own (a house being taken away in a storm, a new brother is doted upon). Secondly, there's a serious darkness looming in the background (Seeking a Wizard, people keep disappearing in a chocolate factory). Thirdly, there's a web or spirituality or magically whimsy that somehow flows through the characters (A wicked witch chases the heroes, the oompa-loompas).

This is, by no means, a comprehesive piece of research. I'm writing on the fly here. But when I think of tales like The Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, even Judy Blume's SuperFudge, there's a representation of some of these elements. I think that's what attracts people to Harry. There's enough of these elements to keep tweens and teens reading (probably the most important thing here, lest we forget) but not enough formula that the endings are still being pulled off as a surprise.

As did with me at the end of this movie. James Bond movies? You can predict the end of the movie by the end of the opening credits...most sequels tend to be that way. But, outside of the Quidditch game and the same villian, I was truly surprised at the components of the movie. Good stuff, yo.

So, if you liked the first two, great, I think you'll be pleased. Think before taking kids, however. This isn't the usual Haunted Mansion kinda fluff.

Let's say, I dunno, 4 out of five stars.