Just watched the first 3 over the last few days and I agree, it’s the best one so far. From a plot perspective, Prisoner of Azkaban is pretty much like all the other movies when compared to the book series. Plenty of plot points left out and several inconsistencies. But from a visual craftsmanship perspective it’s the best by far.
Because this is the book where everything really elevates for the HP world. The movie managed to set just the right tone and thus is a perfect segway between the first two pretty feel-good and child-friendly movies to the later dark movies. And the choice to switch directors to Alfonso Cuaron was well fitting as it helped delineate the stark difference between Azkaban and the first two which really made it stand out to me. Not to mention I think it has one of the strongest plots and it was a lot of people's favorite books.
The camerawork is exquisite, with several pretty long scenes being shot in a single take with a single camera.
And Cuaron expertly worked in the movies overarching theme - the passage of time - into details throughout the movies. Clocks, pendulums, the whomping willow shaking of snow, seasonal changes, etc. It’s a masterpiece from a technical POV.
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