Charger Arts & Entertainment

Third times a charm

Katy Wynn, Charger Staff

The Rolling Stone calls it, “... by far the best and most thrilling of the three Harry Potter movies to date...” and Ebert and Roeper says, ”Even if you’ve never read a word of the Potter books... Azkaban stands alone as a creative triumph.”

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the movie has taken another leap into the life of J.K. Rowling’s teenage hero. Harry, being cut off from the wizarding world for the summer, does not know of the escape of the infamous murderer Sirius Black. Harry performs magic, which is illegal for students to do away from school, so he runs away from the Dursley’s ( Harry’s aunt, uncle, and cousin) house. The Minister of Magic finds Harry. Harry figures that if the Minister is personally looking for him then he is definitely expelled. To his surprise, Harry is cleared of all charges and is set up in a room at the Leaky Cauldron until school starts.

Later on, Harry discovers that Sirius black was put in prison for murdering twelve people at one time. He also discovers that Black is his godfather and the man responsible for Harry’s parents deaths. Just before Black escaped, he is heard muttering, “ He is at Hogwarts,” in his sleep. They believe that Black is out to finish the job that he an Voldemort started thirteen years ago.

The third movie has a new director, Alfonso Cauron. He has given the third Harry Potter movie a different setting and appearance from the first two movies. Although it does not have all of the events in the book, obviously for time reasons, it does follow closely to most of the main events. “The visual and special effects were awesome,” says Jesse Kennedy, a freshman at Cookeville High School, “Even though the new director has made this movie darker, I liked it better than the first two put together.”

Other additions to this movie are new cast members. Some of the new cast members are Michael Gambon, who plays Professor Dumbledore after the late Richard Harris, Emma Thompson, who plays Professor Trelawney, the teacher of Divination, a new subject that third years are allowed to take, Gary Oldman, who portrays the villain Sirius Black, and David Thewlis, who plays the new Defense Against the dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. Hagrid also becomes a teacher in this movie; he teaches Care of Magical Creatues.

This movie also introduces time travel and dementors, the guarders of Azkaban prison. Some of the new setting includes a long stairway that students now have to take to get to Hagrid’s hut. Also, the interior of the castle is different but not as different as the grounds. The halls and stairways are generally the same and the Great Hall has a new podium where Dumbledore makes his speech.

Cauron has taken the magical words of J. K. Rowling from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and has brought it to life in a new way. From the new look to the new and old cast it has rocketed into the next step of the Harry Potter series and left us anticipating the arrival of the succeeding one.