Harry Potter III casts its spell on critics

CRITICS have been spellbound by the third Harry Potter movie The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The JK Rowling blockbuster, which opened in Britain on Monday, is a darker outing than the first two films.

Convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped Azkaban wizards' prison and it seems he's coming after Harry.

Daniel Radcliffe's performance as a more cynical, angst-ridden teenager has been greeted as "fantastic".

A Daily Mirror critic wrote that after the "over-elaborate disappointment" of second film The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban was "a return to form".

The anonymous critic wrote: "This dazzling Potter spectacular is different, darker but it's still the stuff of magic."

Harry Potter is a "new-look, deep-voiced, angst-ridden teenager with a serious score to settle.

"But he's back in such sensational style his millions of adoring fans will still be wild about Harry."

The critic says: "Light and trite it isn't.

"But new director Alfonso Cuaron's bold plunge into the world of wizardry's darker side has produced an absorbing film with a very different flavour from Harry's first two big-screen adventures."

Newsweek said: "The real reason this third film outshines the others is that it's about something more frightening than failing your potions final or facing Lord Voldemort.

"It's about being 13."

Radcliffe's appearance and that of co-star Emma Watson, who plays Hermione, has totally transformed since the second installment.

Film website Ain't it Cool News describes Watson as a "mini, adolescent Grace Kelly" while Newsweek says Radcliffe is "totally crushworthy".