The suspense escalates throughout the film as we are plunged once more into the magical world of Hogwarts. Appearances are made by old friends such as Hagrid, the Rowling equivalent of the BFG, and Dumbledore (a kind of pseudo-Gandalf), played excellently by Michael Gambon in place of Richard Harris, who sadly died last year. New characters also appear, including Remus Lupin as the new successor to the ill-fated role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Sirius Black himself.
The action progresses almost faultlessly to a drawn-out climax inside the infamous Whomping Willow, whilst at the same time achieving a depth of character unheard of in its predecessors. This must in part be attributed to a brilliantly sculpted script; without some of the contrived jokes and pointless exclamations of the first two films, the dialogue is infinitely more realistic, offering a real insight into the characters sadly lacking in the previous instalments of the series.
Another reason why this film transcends the boundaries of its preceding movies is the use of CGI. Certainly, technological advancements over the past year have had an undeniable effect on the believability of some moments in the film when compared to the first (or even the second) movie. For example, Fluffy (the giant three-headed dog in the first movie), whilst initially well-rendered, pales in comparison to the exhilarating believability exuded by the extreme long shot of Harry flying Buckbeak over the lake. However, the truth in why this movie is so much better lies in not what the special effects look like, but how they are used.
Complaints abounded over the use of special effects in films one and two; they were overused, they didn’t contribute to the storyline, they detracted from any character development and transformed the films into a technological mockery of the books. The same cannot be said for the third. Unlike the other movies, the CGI in this film does not in any way take precedence over character-development. Instead it positively adds to it, by putting characters into impossible situations and examining their reactions.
Cuaron also focuses more on the intrinsic symbolisms of the books than his predecessor ever did. For example, for the entire last twenty minutes of the movie, from the point at which Hermione and Harry use the time turner to when they return to the present, the soundtrack is underscored by a continuous ticking noise; a device which seems on paper to be both irritating and contrived, and yet which translates onto the screen as a subliminal countdown of impending doom that has the audience on the edge of their seats without knowing exactly why.
Indeed, the film hides several subtle symbols that subconsciously impress the theme of time (or more accurately, the instable and finite nature of time) into the audiences’ psyche. The most obvious example of this is the many intermediary shots of the giant clock that now graces the towers of Hogwarts, using moving shots of the innermost cogs and gears to suggest a deeper, more complex force running throughout the movie.
Tilted camera angles are also used to great effect by suggesting a greater imbalance between the forces of good and evil, especially during the scenes when the Time Turner is used, and when Professor Trelawney makes her unnerving, slightly crazed predictions.
Of course, none of this would – or could – complete a movie without actors. Before, the acting in Harry Potter films has been questionable to say the least, and yet this movie really does break the mold in that department.
The child actors, in particular Daniel Radcliffe as Harry himself, seem to have matured immensely in both looks and skill in the year between this film and the last one. The excruciatingly wooden performances of the first two movies have all but disappeared, replaced by acting worthy of a blockbuster such as this.
The most notably improved are of course the Golden Trio, all three of whom can now carry off those extreme close ups which in the previous movies seemed hardly worth the screen time. They even inject this darkly intriguing film with a few humorous moments (such as Hermione’s ill-timed self analyzation of her hairstyle whilst hidden behind a tree), which are pulled off with such professionalism that they are genuinely funny, as opposed to the cheesy one-liners that audiences have been forced to endure before.
Of course, the adult characters are just as good, if not better than the kids, and Emma Thompson is particularly brilliant as Professor Trelawney, the perpetually baffled divination teacher with the irritating habit of erroneously predicting the death of at least one student per year.
However, there is one secret ingredient in this cauldron of talent that outshines the rest, and that is the performance of Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. He is most definitely the comic relief of the films, and he carries it off perfectly, with feminine screams and almost-but-not-quite overacted expressions that make for hilarity as effectively as any Cheering Charm.
Despite all this, the film is not all perfection, and it has garnered some less than magical reviews. Many people complain about the dissimilarities between the film and the book. Indeed, there are a lot of differences, the most notable being the appearances of the three main characters; the school uniforms are replaced by much cooler clothing in order to satisfy teenage fans in a move which many have deemed unnecessary, and yet which helps distinguish the film and draws the story to a more mature and frightening place than seen before. The only real fault with the film is the way it – confusingly – assumes that everyone in the cinema must have already read the book and therefore know the plot. As a result, some of the finer details are lost and muddied, including the whole back-story involving Harry’s father, meaning that some finer moments in the film could be slightly baffling to the less knowledgeable in the audience.
Of course, these are all minor points, and as I have said before, the film on a whole is spectacular. It has even been nominated for multiple awards, including two OSCAR’s and a Grammy. So forget the horror of the first two films; this movie is one that the entire family can truly enjoy, and still keep going back for more!!! After all, the extraordinary world of Harry Potter extends for four more years yet, and if the sequels live up to the standard set by this instalment of the series, you wouldn’t need to be Professor Trelawney to predict the continuing success of this magical franchise!
