The ARC Minister

Prisoner of Azkaban completely derailed the Harry Potter movies for me. I know it’s a favorite for a lot of fans, but I’ve never been able to get into it. Compared to the first two movies, it felt like way too sharp of a departure. Cuarón absolutely nailed some of the darker and more mature elements from the books, but the movie also moved so far away from the foundation Chris Columbus established. Dumbledore: Richard Harris passing obviously meant a new Dumbledore, but the personality change was so abrupt that even as a kid, it felt jarring. The locations: Hagrid’s cabin is suddenly somewhere completely different. The Fat Lady and Gryffindor entrance feel completely different. The Leaky Cauldron looks nothing like it did before. Flitwick is completely changed. The only location change I can really forgive is the Whomping Willow because of how important it is to the climax. The clothing: Suddenly the kids are wearing Muggle clothes instead of their Hogwarts uniforms, and every movie after just followed that direction. Characters disappearing: The first two movies actually took time to establish people like Oliver Wood, Percy, the ghosts, etc. Then PoA just starts making characters disappear. Oliver Wood's final year and big Quidditch win should've been a milestone, but he's basically gone. And that trend only gets worse as the movies continue. As a standalone movie, Prisoner of Azkaban is fantastic. Harry's loneliness, the Hogsmeade stuff, the reveal about Sirius... some of the strongest emotional moments in the franchise. But as the third part of a seven-movie story that is supposed to feel cohesive? It feels like the franchise suddenly became a completely different series. It has always been my least favorite Harry Potter movie, and I'll die on that hill.