Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban This month, the third installment of Harry Potter's lifestory (Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban) has been released in movie form. With a new director and quite a few noticeable changes, the movie has earned its share of recognition and praise. But not all the changes have been received with open arms. For any loyal fan of Mr. Potter's story, quite a few disappointments lie within this latest film. A list has been made, coinciding with the "what to expect" article in The Quibbler's May issue. 1. Daniel as Harry: For the past two movies, fans have complained that Mr. Daniel Radcliffe is not the splitting image of Harry Potter, with his mud-brown hair and gray-blue eyes rather than jet-black hair and the ever-mentioned bright green eyes. But in the third film, some fans might be pleased to see that his hair has gotten somewhat 'wilder', though his eyes are still the same. But while Mr. Radcliffe may not look exactly like our Mr. Potter, there was certainly a noticeable change in his acting, delivering scenes with a dramatic punch. 2. No Quidditch Cup: There is but one Quidditch match in the movie, where Gryffindor challenges Hufflepuff. Harry does indeed fall off his broom, which is then smashed to pieces by the Willow. While the scene itself was marvelously done, fans may frown upon the fact that Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang remained uncast. While there was a presence of a Hufflepuff Seeker, no confirmation led us to believe that he was, in fact, the Cedric. That Seeker, it seems, was a merely 'filler'. 3. Firebolt: Harry receives the Firebolt at the very end of the film, when it should have been at Christmas. This proves to be a crucial mistake for, in the book, it proved to be the first sign Harry shows 'contempt' for one of his best friends — Hermione, who was supposed to turn the Firebolt into Professor McGonagall to have it checked for hexes. 4. Ron/Hermione conflict: While there were little bits of the Ron/Hermione conflict scattered around the movie, the impact of their squabbles seemed insignificant, almost silly. Due to time restraints — and perhaps some added romantic moments — they were not able to show the true depth of just how far those two can take it. 5. Scenes/Lines: Some may be pleased to see that Hermione only stole one line this movie (making that tally up to two), though Ron fans all around are screaming for his big chance to show he's good for something other than add to the comic relief. There was the infamous Malfoy punch (as opposed to a slap) but perhaps the biggest change in scene occurred during one of the talks between Professor Lupin and Harry. Lupin delivers his, "I recognized you the moment I saw you," line perfectly, but instead of continuing off with Harry's likeness to James, he makes comments about Lily. 6. Prongs?: Many fans have been displeased to see that the bond between James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter have been left to the audience's imaginations. There was no mentioning of the quartet ever being the infamous Marauders, nor were their nicknames ever really explained (or at least brought into light). So when Harry finally created that magnificent stag to save himself and Sirius, the brilliance and intensity of it was dispelled a bit, due to the fact that the non-reader would be left wondering just why it was so important that it took on that particular form. Don't get us wrong. There have been adaptations that only added to the brilliance of the story. 1. The presence of amusing transition scenes helped keep the film from being too 'choppy'. 2. The comedy seems to have heightened a bit and felt more natural, even in times when laughter would be the farthest thing from your mind. 3. The music was beautifully done and helped add more depth to the really frightening scenes. |