[HPFGU-Movie] (Spoilers) Some POA comments- dislikes

[Trevor]

Hi all,

After watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban last night, I
realized that I really did not like this movie.  I absolutely love the books
and enjoy the first two movies yet this is my favorite book (perhaps the
problem).  I felt that this movie had almost come from Cliff notes rather
than the original book- most of the major plot points without a lot of
detail.  I felt that not only did I need to read the book in order to follow
the logic of the movie but the main characters had to as well.

Here are my reasons for dislike:

1)       Lupin and Black treat the Marauder's Map like common knowledge and
no one questions their insight.  Black knows instantly which map Harry and
Lupin are referring to in the Shrieking Shack.  Lupin, as stated in earlier
posts, does not explain his detailed knowledge of this map (we can surmise-
so can Harry but he would question).  Lupin never questions Harry where he
got it- out of character and pointless to exclude- even if Harry does not
answer.  The whole thing seems out of character.

2)       The impression I got from the post time-turner scene in which Harry
and Hermione deny weirdness to Ron- this belittles their relationship.
Throughout the movies the three of them are best friends and do not
purposely keep secrets from one another once two know.  Harry and Hermione
may have later told Ron but that was not my impression.  Therefore, I feel
this scene was not loyal to the characters (book or movie).

3)       The very weak (ongoing?) fight between Ron and Herminie- I kept on
forgetting that they should be mad at each other because I did not feel it
from the characters.  I am not asking for 5 minutes of screen time at once
but the inclusion of the fight seems almost as an afterthought inserted post
initial screening.  These are two 13 year olds, hormonally volatile, yet
they cannot hold a grudge?

4)       I felt the whole movie was rushed.  This is not necessarily a bad
thing but things jumped too quickly for no apparent reason other than
keeping the movie to a reasonable length.  

5)       I understand that things from the book must be cut in order to keep
the movie to a reasonable time, however, I would rather have more plot
details than extra character build up or stunning visuals neither which
effect the plot/timeline.  I really enjoyed the dorm scene with Harry, Ron,
and their dorm mates, but it was pointless other than making us laugh.  I
would have rather had more time in the Shrieking Shack than that scene.  It
is also true of the miscellaneous ghost appearances; these had no point and
would have made great backdrops to plot advancing scenes rather than
visually stunning interludes.  The time spent showing the Whomping Willow
attacking birds, while funny and foreshadowing, could have been backdrop as
well, rather than wasted minutes alone.  Cuaron seems to have added scenes
just make us laugh meanwhile cutting scenes that are not just necessary for
this film but for the whole series (DD explaining to Harry the good he did).

6)       I did enjoy some of the visuals, but they seemed to be gratuitous
at times.  Some of the scenes however, were entirely too gritty for me.  The
Dursley and Leaky Caldron segments appear to be filmed on entirely different
type of film than the rest of the movie.  It was gritty and shaky- artsy if
you will and I did not enjoy it so much as it did not seem to have a point.
This technique is usually used to illustrate a specific point, recreating
historical footage/home movies, to depict dirty environments, etc.  It could
have been used nicely in the dirty Leaky Caldron but the prior use of it at
the Dursley's ruined the effect.

7)       The movie made several scenes just about humor yet it left out one
of the funniest scenes in the movie, the attempt by Malfoy and Co to scar
Harry by dressing as Dementors.  Harry of course responds with a Patronus,
which is meant to show that Malfoy is not just an innocent target of Harry's
but a co-belligerent.  This could have been done outside of a Quidditch
match and been just as funny.

8)       The end Patronus scene was visually weak, the stag almost an
afterthought.  I would have enjoyed seeing the stag chase away Dementors
much more than another bird being whacked by the Whomping Willow or the end
flight scene.

9)        The Freeze Frame ending.  Personal pet peeve.

 

            Overall, the film felt as if Cuaron or the scriptwriter had
personal things they felt should be in the movie regardless of their
relevance or their cost to plot advancement.  It angers me that Cuaron felt
(as stated in another post) that the Marauder's Map should be explained in
GoF.  That book is longer yet and now it has to include more bits of book 3?
A visually stunning movie is great but I would rather have a good plot with
necessary details.

 

Trevor 



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