Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [2-Disc Widescreen Edition]

Easily the best film in the series to date; let's hope that this package is geared less to the kiddie set and more to the multi-generational fanbase Harry has spawned.

Sean (I don't got a fanbase; I got the opposite...whatever that is...)

Dad Nabbit! Flarfinfargin....Bah!

Sean (no idea what the above means, but NUTS to my double posting!...)

You mean to tell me you didn't enjoy those little kids games on the previous movie dvds?!?!?!?!?!

It's not that I didn't enjoy them. I couldn't beat them! Dad-blasted kids with their high IQs...;)

Sean (I'll say dad-blasted...Dad got blasted alright!...)

Am I the only one who thinks this 3rd installment is the worst of the 3? I saw it on opening day and had really high expectations and was very disappointed. I felt the screenplay glazed over too many important facts like when Mr. Weasly tells Harry about Sirius, you can barely hear him talking. The part where Harry finds out that Sirius didnt kill his parents, is also too rushed and I think it is a little unbelievable that Harry could start liking him that fast. FYI Prisoner is my favorite of the books so that makes it even more odd that I was disappointed with it.
I think that the book story doesnt translate well to screen because there is no confrentation with Voldemort that you come to expect from the Potter movies.
I will buy this on DVD though because I thought the ending was good and want to have the 3rd film sitting next to the first two on my shelf. I really wanted to love this movie but unfortunetely the film didnt cut it for me. But maybe a second viewing may change my views a bit.
Well Ill stop rambling now,
Cheers.

i liked it more than the first 2. i thought it had a much darker feel to it. my only complaint is that the ending was way too abrupt...

you're not alone, rotkfan. i felt that the entire production was a waste. the awful thing is that emma watson is the best performer amongst the kids, but even she felt like a blip. what's really bad is that she has more to do in this movie than in the previous one (in which she was petrified for long stretches), but she had better moments in that one than in this one. :@

I thought that this movie didn't have the same feel as the first two. However, the visually this film was good. I am not the biggest fan of Harry Potter movies but I was able to sit through this one without thinking about what I should have been spending good money on. You really need to buy into the universe of Harry Potter to like these movies alot and I am a person who can't.

John,

I agree with you that this movie is lacking. My problem is how uncinematic this adaptation was. There were too many scenes of people shouting at each other rather than scenes showing us what happened in the past. For example, instead of the way that the Shrieking Shack scene was handled, they should've done a flashback to Scabbers telling Voldemort the password, cutting his own finger off, etc.

Eddie

Excellent review.

"lackadaisical"

Anyone who uses that word in a review deserves extra credit :D

I was going to use "verisimilitude," too, but I thought it might be a bit much. That and I couldn't spell it.

John

I see an anniversary edition of Mary Poppins looms on your horizon, John. Are you sure you're not just saving yourself for "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"?

Great movie kept my on the tip of my chair. :)
But the first two were better, IMHO

Only one major negative comment:
Warner changed the packaging in the middle of the serie from the digipack to the keepcase :@ They should have done that after the last Potter.

Bought the first two. Not buying this because of the packaging (Lose some more customers Warner!)

Verisimilitude isn't a word that's used in real life, anyway.

Oh, yes, that was a literary joke.

Man, video quality is a big disappointment for me.

Far too many scenes for me seemed overly soft. Definitely lacking sharpness and definition.

Great film, less kid aimed and less boring.

Well, as a citic here, I agee!