Hmm, I’ve actually never really thought about this too much before; I normally contemplate which film is my favorite and then just kind of lump together the rest of them in a “not favorite” category.
I guess… well, I guess I’d have to say Prisoner of Azkaban. I know that it was a turning point in the movies, where they became less about OOOOH MAGIC and more about the characters growing up in dark and frightening times, but there were still so many mishaps in the transition that it kind of rubs me the wrong way. And while Alfonso Cuaron did a respectable job of finally incorporating the incredible scenery into the films, there are too many times when he got caught up in showcasing it or trying to make the characters fuller that he forgot about the actual plot and basic facts in the books. Was the Marauder’s Map ever explained in any way?! I don’t believe so, and that’s, you know, kind of an important little detail since it’s the key to the entire third book – if you go by the film, it appears as though Lupin just happened to know how to work this mysterious map because he somehow vaguely knew the creators of it. Because obviously it’s not that essential for Harry to know that Lupin was his father’s best friend or who the actual mapmakers were. Not to mention the fact that it was never revealed that James Potter was an Animagus who transformed into a stag, which is vital to the entire climax of the film. And then there’s Cuaron’s decision to have Lupin and Harry take lengthy strolls in the woods, which just comes across as being a little weird, at least in my eyes, since there was no real indication of why they would feel the need to bond to such an extent. Okay, and who the hell is that kid who hangs around Malfoy all of a sudden supposed to be?! Goyle pretty much just vanishes and we’re left with this unexplained doofus trailing after Malfoy as though it’s totally natural to just make up new characters that aren’t in the books. Not all right.
Then there are just a few things that are SO annoying in the third film that I have to address (although there are these issues in every film, but still): Hagrid’s hut got moved to some weird remote corner of the grounds of Hogwarts as if they were trying to make everyone forget he even existed; Hermione’s slow, melodramatic collapse onto Ron’s shoulder after Buckbeak’s execution and Harry’s pathetic attempt to join in makes me cringe every time I see it; the absolutely dreadful and unfunny shrunken head on the Knight Bus that causes me to get irrationally annoyed because it is just such a stupid addition (and the ones in the Three Broomsticks, too, for that matter); the random Hogwarts choir that just springs up out of nowhere (Hogwarts doesn’t have a choir, Cuaron), although I do like the song they perform; Flitwick’s replacement by some weird younger brunette guy even though he is supposed to be “ancient” and adorable (and this guy, who also directs the new CHOIR, is not adorable in any way); the film opens with Harry casting “Lumos Maxima” (is that even a real spell in the books? “Maxima?”) with no fear of blatantly breaking the restrictions on underage magic (yet he’s immediately “expelled” by the Ministry when he accidentally blows up Aunt Marge , not to mention the fact that the light keeps fading out after like five seconds (that’s not the way that “Lumos” works); during the Quidditch match Harry sees clouds shaped like the Grim instead of actually seeing the physical Grim watching in the stands, which totally defeats the point that there was no Grim, it was just Sirius the entire time.
Okay, I’m done ranting. Once I got started I remembered how annoyed I got throughout this film. Hmph. (Don’t worry, I still love it.)
