Directors: Alfonso Cuarón

The best of Mexican modern cinema. Way too graphic, but it has a point, specially with such a good direction from part of Cuaron.

92/100

The film that established a new darker and scarier atmosphere to the Harry Potter franchise, making it the best film of the trilogy that had been released so far (and of the whole series as well), Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, director of Sólo con tu Pareja (1991), Y Tu Mamá También (2001) and Children of Men (2006), considerably raised the bar and opened new possibilities, applying the basic magical and childishly moving elements used by Chris Columbus in the previous films and adding an unusual touch of brilliant direction (the best of the series), a less limited screenplay adaptation and what basically constituted a darker Potter, and a more tense story that already started to challenge the limits of a PG rating.

After being fed up with his annoying aunt and uncle and accidentally inflating his aunt Marge because of a spell caused by anger, Harry finally manages to run away. Once that he avoids being penalized because of using magic outside school, he encounters more danger when he finds out that a presumed devoted Lord Voldemort's follower named Sirius Black, who had been imprisoned in Azkaban because of mass murder, has recently escaped. Harry also has some bizarre encounters with the Dementors, creatures of the dark that awaken the deepest fears, He and his friends will face unbelievable dangers once more while Harry will discover several shocking truths about his past, and the past of his family. The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score and Best Achievement in Visual Effects. It also was nominated for three BAFTA Film Awards including Best Make Up/Hair, Best Production Design and Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, and for an Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. In the end, it won the Audience Award.

Despite the presence of a main villain, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is, according to the majority's opinion, the best film in the whole Harry Potter series because of its brilliantly developed screenplay, its genius and complex direction, its pace and its all-new performances by the young cast which principally consists in Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson playing their respective, famous roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The only minimal flaw I noticed in the film, a flaw that happened for obvious reasons, is that the actors are portraying 13 year old students, when they actually seem older. The reason is because, although the film takes place one year after Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released two years later.

The complexity of the plot's direction and handling may be overshadowed by the apparent simplicity of the screenplay made, once again, by Steve Kloves. The way the concept of time travelling is applied works perfectly, and the film, when lacking action in comparison to the previous films, is improved over the original films thanks to the character development and the importance it gives to the story. When I say it is a less limited screenplay means that Cuarón was very aware of the fact that the term "adaptation" precisely means to adapt, not to copy the book nor eliminate key elements of the novel, so he took the decision of creating his own version according to his vision and interpretation of the facts.

This is the first time Gary Oldman is added to the cast, who interpreted a rather interesting character as Sirius Black. The editing is pretty decent and the cinematography has improved since the direction of Chris Columbus, leaving room for a nice editing and a different style never seen before in the franchise. Cuarón's charisma is present with the humor he presents to the audience, avoiding the result to come off sour. Looking for intense moments, some touches of genius, new characters and new spells with a fitting rhythm and a wonderful musical score and art direction? The world of this film has been made for you.

We can basically divide the Harry Potter franchise into two parts. The second part starts with this film, where more mature themes and a more macabre and less childish subject matter must already be faced. As long as the sequels kept improving, so were the overall results, including the epic size of the plot. A new start, I call it, this is a film proudly made by one of the best modern Mexican directors nowadays. A brilliant film, this is.

82/100

Terrifying apocalyptic view of the future with a hell of a direction. It will blow you away. Cuaron's second best film.

88/100