Again, I went to a late showing to avoid the kids.
What a difference a director makes – this is a much better film than the other two. It's a pity that Daniel Radcliffe's acting isn't improving at the same rate. But the rest of the cast reads like a Who's Who of British acting talent. I thought the Knight Bus was very well portrayed.
The film made a lot of cuts from the book, including some plot elements which it really would have done better to keep. It was never mentioned that Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs were Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and (James) Potter; nor that they were school friends who taught themselves to become animaguses in order to keep Lupin company once a month; nor that Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban after recognising Peter Pettigrew (Scabbers) in the newspaper photo of the Weasleys. The omission of these major plot elements left a couple of friends of mine wondering who slashed the Fat Lady's painting (it must have been Sirius Black; but isn't he a good guy?).
Agreed! I find it curious that the third film should be half an hour shorter than the first two and yet have such glaring omissions…still, visually, I thought it worked a treat! Quidditch in the rain storm looked great.
Perhaps there'll be a “extended” edition? ^_~
Anyhow, hi from Guildford!
Mkm
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