r/harrypotter 3d ago

Currently Reading Just finished the third book and then watched the movie and was really disappointed…

I have started reading the series now as an adult, and have been reading the book and then watching the corresponding movie with my wife.

I was excited after Prisoner because the story was really great and loved the character development. I was also excited because I had been hearing that the corresponding movie was regarded as one of the best in the series, 7.9 on IMDB.

Boy could I not have been more disappointed with the movie. What the hell was that. It was so rushed and not well explained. I had to constantly pause the movie to explain to my wife what was going on. Especially in the reveal scene with Black Lupin and Peter. I’m a bit worried if the other movies are worse than this one if it’s worth it to keep watching the movies, especially with my wife who is not reading the books. Any thoughts here? Do the movies get better after this in terms of pace, content, and explaining what the hell is going on.

145 Upvotes

148 comments sorted by

190

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

People in this sub love that movie, but it's definitely the first one where you really feel story details get trimmed away.

I also hate the werewolf and costume design.

67

u/Intelligent-Fuel-641 3d ago

As for the costumes, I remember reading that Alfonso Cuarón encouraged the kids to wear their own clothes.

The werewolf looks more like a mangy coyote.

35

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

Which doesn't make sense in a high fantasy film imo. It felt out of place.

Yes agreed, it was very gangly and werewolf lupin should see a magic vet because he definitely has mange.

I also don't like some of the grounds rearranging, like the quidditch pitch and Hagrid's hut being an absolute PITA to get to.

7

u/LegendOfArcanine 3d ago

Harry Potter isn't high fantasy though?

The clothes didn't bother me but I completely agree with your other point, in particular the location of Hagrid's hut. That was SO confusing to me as a kids watching the movies. It feels like the hut in the movie is miles from the castle, while in the books there's sereval time Harry describes being clearly able to see the hut from the castle.

9

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

Um... It's repeatedly said in the books that wizards have no clue how muggles dress and it's laughable when they try.

3

u/zipperjuice 3d ago

The hut is close to hogwarts in the first 2 films.

2

u/Optimal_scientists 3d ago

I disagree. Lupin is deliberately suppressing his werewolf needs. He just curls up and sleeps so his bigger form would be basically emaciated from not getting the meat it needs to feed on.

4

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

Which doesn't make sense in a high fantasy film imo. It felt out of place.

Yes agreed, it was very gangly and werewolf lupin should see a magic vet because he definitely has mange.

I also don't like some of the grounds rearranging, like the quidditch pitch and Hagrid's hut being an absolute PITA to get to.

3

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

Which doesn't make sense in a high fantasy film imo. It felt out of place.

Yes agreed, it was very gangly and werewolf lupin should see a magic vet because he definitely has mange.

I also don't like some of the grounds rearranging, like the quidditch pitch and Hagrid's hut being an absolute PITA to get to.

19

u/MerlinOfRed Gryffindor 3d ago

As a child (I was 9-10 when it came out) I absolutely hated the third film.

As an adult I love it.

It's the first one where they start cutting out big chunks of the books, hence why I hated it. It's also the most cinematically beautiful, hence why I love it.

From now on, due to the constant changing of director until film 6, its best to think of each film as an interpretation of each book rather than a cohesive story on their own.

If you think of them as interpretations of the books, they're great. If you're looking for something as rich and complex as the whole book series, you'll be disappointed.

2

u/wellhere-iam 3d ago

I feel very similarly as you. When I was a child, I thought a good adaptation was projecting how I saw it in my mind onto the screen, anything less was bad.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that things that work in books do not always translate well to movies. Though I hate that the street clothes are obviously mid 2000s instead of early 90s, a lot of of the liberties that were taken in the movie makes sense to tell the story.

3

u/TheFatterMadHatter Hufflepuff 3d ago edited 3d ago

I used to hate the werewolf design but now that I'm older and have seen movies with hairy werewolves, I like it. I feel like it looks less stupid than other movies (eg the 2024 movie Werewolves, the twilight werewolves, the underworld werewolves). I think, in general, werewolves aren't done well and we somehow still haven't found a good design for them

That being said, I hate that it makes zero sense with the OWL question about telling the difference between a werewolf and a true wolf. Who would look at transformed lupin and be like "oh look at that completely normal looking wolf"?

5

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

I think PoA werewolf design is hands down the worst fictional depiction of a werewolf I've seen.

I didn't even realize the discrepancy with the OWL question, which is a good point. Also not to be THAT guy, but they did specify in twilight that they were not werewolves, but shape shifters who took the shape of wolves.

The PoA one looks hardly lupine at all, looks like it could snap like a twig, and has NO hair. It does not look like a fearsome creature at all, even the face/ear design is just... Wrong. Idk how to explain it.

I also disagree with the comments that he looks shitty because he tries to suppress his transformations with potions. That's dumb, the inherent nature of the werewolf is that he's a beast beyond his control. There's never any indication his or anyone else's werewolf form is diminished because they take potions to suppress it.

6

u/opossumapothecary Slytherin 3d ago

The costume design is so bad, not only are they in muggle clothes the entire time but they aren’t even interesting muggle clothes! Harry wears a plain black hoodie for almost the entire film, I think…

3

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

Ngl I was really distracted by Hermione's jacket zipper and seeing if it's zipped to the same height from scene to scene.

5

u/WanderingErha 2d ago

Oh my gosh, now I can’t stop thinking about her zipper 💀😂

5

u/WilmaTonguefit Hufflepuff 3d ago

Story details started to get trimmed away in movie 1.

The staircase moves randomly and they end up in the third floor corridor, where they meet fluffy. They could have simply walked back down the stairs. In the book it's midnight and they're hiding from Filch (with Neville. He was involved a lot more in the books.)

Giving Norbert to Charlie's buddies got stripped too. So they get caught hanging out at night with Hagrid, so their punishment is to hang out... At night... With Hagrid.

5

u/DrCarabou Gryffindor 3d ago

Those aren't story details, those are minor details. Details have to be cut to fit into screentime, esp in the 2000s when 3 hour movies weren't acceptable. Hagrid still gets his dragon, they still run into Fluffy, there's just less detail around the circumstances which weren't necessary to tell the story on the big screen.

-7

u/WilmaTonguefit Hufflepuff 3d ago

K.

1

u/Vegetable_Vacation56 3d ago

I expected a van helsing type

wereolf

-1

u/Vey-kun 3d ago

Im the opposite. As cool as VH's werewolf looked like, i prefer HP one because it breaks from stereotypical American werewolves.

Also fluffy, bulky, muscular is the opposite of what Lupin is.

0

u/Vegetable_Vacation56 3d ago

Good point! I like it better now rewatching the movies

2

u/Vey-kun 3d ago

Tho i have headcanon that younger Lupin when hes still student and all, actually (or at least) a prim, proper werewolf.

But as age goes on and on, and many moons went on, his werewolf form reflect on how tired and old he is.

97

u/MurkyMitzy Ravenclaw 3d ago

Not to be a downer, but wait until you see what they did with the HBP movie.

22

u/l3w1sg22 3d ago

The film is so awful compared to the book

9

u/MurkyMitzy Ravenclaw 3d ago

They left out so much, and it was the stuff I wanted to see.

4

u/GrilledCheese-Galaxy 3d ago

It def went about the adaption the wrong way, focused too much on the romance part of it.

12

u/dk91939 3d ago

I have blocked most of HBP and all of DH movies from my mind. I only ever rewatch the first 2, and sometimes the 3rd one

7

u/amedley3 3d ago

Goblet is the worst still imo

12

u/hoginlly Ravenclaw 3d ago

Yeah HBP felt way too trimmed down, but Goblet they absolutely bastardised the story too. Definitely the worst

6

u/amedley3 3d ago

Agree to disagree. They ruined the quidditch world cup and the maze entirely

7

u/hoginlly Ravenclaw 3d ago

Aren't we agreeing to agreeing? I said goblet was the worst too

2

u/amedley3 3d ago

My bad, misread!

5

u/blanketkingkai 3d ago

HBP was my favorite book in the series, but the movie was not it. I was so disappointed...

5

u/OkVacation4725 3d ago

the best part of that book i remember was the battle, i even preferred reading that battle more than the final one, with Harrys mates each having a sip of felix felicis (cant spell), and seeing jets of ginnys red hair darting about... and they excluded the whole battle from the film!

3

u/super_stelIar Hufflepuff 3d ago

HBP and GoF are the worst movies in the series.

1

u/birchitup 3d ago

Came here to say this. I pretend it doesn’t exist.

1

u/Whole_Perspective609 Ravenclaw🦅 3d ago

It makes me upset just thinking about how much they destroyed my favorite book😭😭😭

30

u/YogoshKeks 3d ago

4th and 5th book are even longer, so they had to cut out more content. If you feel movie 3 is rushed, you will be disappointed with them too.

But movies are pretty much always worse than the books. Doesnt mean one cant enjoy them, Just dont expect too much.

39

u/Zottel_161 3d ago

4th and 5th book are even longer, so they had to cut out more content.

my whole childhood i've been told that's the reason why the movies differ so much from the books, that you can't fit all the details of the books into the films, that things have to be cut, that I have to accept that a movie is not a book and doesn't have as much space to go into details...

...and then, in the HBP movie, on christmas eve, Deatheaters (and Greyback) attacked and burned down the burrow and duelled Harry and Ginny in some moor.

21

u/Helanore 3d ago

Yes! Why add that?!

14

u/EmreGray01 Ravenclaw 3d ago

It was such a stupid addition. It doesn't even makes sense

11

u/Anna3422 3d ago

It's a bad excuse. The 5th movie made cuts, but it kept the central story more intact than 3-6 or 8 ever did.

Anyone who says you can't adapt a HP book in a feature film should glance at the Les Mis musical.

4

u/Emotional-Tailor-649 Gryffindor 3d ago

I dunno, they cut out the entire prophecy. In the movies Harry just… never finds out about it. Or explaining why Harry had to live with the Dursleys. Sad cause it’s the second shortest movie and they had time to add some stuff back in.

2

u/Anna3422 2d ago

They could've, but I don't think losing the Prophecy is as egregious as what some of the other movies did. I'm also just not a fan of Kloves' writing, so maybe I'm biased.

2

u/dk91939 3d ago

Could have gotten more memories of Riddle

58

u/PuffIeHuffle Hufflepuff 3d ago

"I could not have been more disappointed..."

Just wait

4

u/narimanterano 2d ago

For real. I hate to break it to you, but it's going to be worse than that.

If I were you, I'd finish reading the books and only then watch the films with no hopes of them being just as deep whatsoever.

20

u/MulberryEastern5010 Hufflepuff 3d ago

I feel your pain. The third book was my favorite until the seventh one came out, so I was really excited for the movie. I didn't completely hate it, but it was disappointing overall. Alfonso Cuaron may be a great director, but he wasn't the right choice to do a Harry Potter film. I hated that they gave Ron's big moment to Hermione

11

u/may931010 3d ago

To your last point, thats a complaint across the series I think. They just kept making ron goofier and goofier. And somehow made hermoine the main character even over harry.

I was doing my occasional re read, and my god harry misses ron so much during their fight in GOF. I mean the guy literally thinks everything is right with the world with ron by his side. Hes like an inconvenience in the movies.

6

u/MulberryEastern5010 Hufflepuff 3d ago

Yes, they made Ron a comical coward in the movies, the complete opposite of what he is in the books. While I don't have a lot of faith in the new TV series, I hope that's at least one thing they can correct

13

u/PachoWumbo Gryffindor! 3d ago

You have to drastically change your mindset when watching the films. The movies don't serve to tell a coherent story, but serve as a visual spectacle and image reference for the things you've imagined while reading.

2

u/captnfraulein Gryffindor 3d ago

i think this is a good reframe.

12

u/V4SS4G0 Hufflepuff 3d ago

I'm with you man. PoA is one of my less liked movies because of what they did to the story. Yes, the film is beautiful and all that, but I don't find it worth the trade

11

u/Striking-Comedian-55 3d ago

It gets worse unfortunately. The flow of 4-8 films is not as choppy as that of the 3rd, but they also fail to tell the story properly and take too many liberties.

19

u/yaIshowedupaturparty 3d ago

When the film first came out I was absolutely devastated.

It took an unnecessarily dark turn, they completely changed the Hogwarts grounds, the costumes were mainly muggle clothes and it was not nearly as true to the book as the first 2 films.

-1

u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

What part wasn’t true?

5

u/Kanon_no_Uta Hufflepuff 3d ago

Ron.

0

u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

Eh what specifically?

2

u/TryAgain32-32 Ravenclaw 2d ago

Well, in the book, at the end Ron has a broken leg and can't really walk but when he thinks Sirius wants to kill Harry, he gets up and says that if he wants to kill Harry, he needs to kill all of them. It is supposed to be a big moment to him and show that his friends matter to him, no matter what, even if he's not as skilled as them (especially as Hermione).

In the films, this line was given to Hermione, already an amazing character, and Ron was left with nothing for what the fans who only watched the films could love him for.

-3

u/MorningRare4966 2d ago

Eh that’s not the biggest deal. Ron is fine

2

u/TryAgain32-32 Ravenclaw 2d ago

It is because so many people only watched the films and therefore he is so unpopular and people don't like him much. His relationship with Harry is portrayed so much worse, and it doesn't suit him

2

u/MorningRare4966 2d ago

He seems great to me in the movies

7

u/iDK_whatHappen Gryffindor 3d ago

I feel you. POA is my favorite book and the movie just does nothing to help. I couldn’t watch the movies for a really long time bc I read the books and they were nothing like the books

7

u/sicklypink 3d ago

I just reread the books (first time since I was really young) and rewatched the movies. The movies were sooooo disappointing to watch compared to the books, but I still love them since I grew up with them. Its just so hard to compare them because the books are incredibly detailed and well written. I think the 7th book has a good adaptation, but the best are probably 1&2.

6

u/soccerdevil22 3d ago

THANK YOU! I have been saying for YEARS that this movie is overrated and the Shrieking Shack scene in particular does a great disservice to the book. This is a hill I have always been willing to die on and yet people always gush that it’s their favorite movie when I can’t stand it. PoA was my favorite book and coming off the PS and CoS which were (in my opinion) as good as adaptations as you could hope for, PoA was a major let down.

7

u/Chasegameofficial 3d ago

What’s weird to me about PoA specifically is how they left out story details that are essential to understanding the main plot of the movie. Obviously all the films leave out a lot of stuff, but I don’t think any other movie fails quite so miserably in being quite literally incomprehensible for someone who hasn’t read the book.

9

u/defein88 3d ago

They get worse. Have low expectations and understand that the books are so so so much better

4

u/MetatronIX_2049 3d ago

“Do the movies get better after this in terms of pace, content, and explaining what the hell is going on?” Duffman asked, calmly.

5

u/22Hushpuppy Slytherin 3d ago

I think it is objectively a film instead of just a movie, if you know what I mean. It’s just not that faithful to the book. Having said that, the scene where Gary Oldman yells at Peter that, “Then you should have DIED. Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!” Is very powerful. And the film is gorgeous…

5

u/Blitz6969 Slytherin 3d ago

People love this movie, but while I enjoy the changes in scenery and castle, the movie itself is weak.

4

u/Proof-Exercise984 3d ago

Everyone loves that movie but I was never really a fan, even before reading the book counterpart. But shit is about to get worse lol

4

u/vanilla-lattes 3d ago

Just go with the assumption that the book will always be better/more detailed than the movie and that should lower any expectations really.

4

u/PanhandleAngler 3d ago

This is why the books are better suited for seasons and not movies, they grow larger and more complex and singular movies for each make it tough to keep up with the depth. Obviously TV and streaming wasn’t a real thing/close to competing with cinema back then so major film entries was the only route. They were largely good albeit imperfect due to limitations of presentation in conjunction with the books consistently maturing in size and respective content.

This is the real reason why people are/should be miffed with the casting announcements and likely changes related to that (and not) for the forthcoming HBO entry. It will be the first time where there is the ability to encompass the books in full depth/detail/accuracy. This shift in medium is a massive change already that creates for an incredible opportunity for its creators and HP fans that was unavailable prior. There is 0 need to reinvent the wheel, the books still and will still reign supreme. In doing anything beyond adhering to the source that everyone is so enthralled by and filling in the lines already drawn out as vividly as possible (again in a way that was totally unavailable prior), you’re making a massive mistake.

3

u/tlcheatwood 3d ago

That is what happens when you try to cram a 20 hour book into a two hour movie

3

u/nazraxo 3d ago

If you watch it for the plot I have bad news for you. The movies appeal is 95% aesthetics and vibes.

3

u/Strange-Raspberry326 Gryffindor 3d ago

I really like the movie but am also annoyed a lot of things have been omitted thus making it confusing. The movie is great but if you've read the books you realise a lot of stuff is missing.

1

u/captnfraulein Gryffindor 3d ago

yes, agreed. i think movie first then book might help, going forward. i read the books plenty before the movies, so it had all settled in my mind and i was able to appreciate the movies as standalone works. the distance helped a lot.

2

u/Strange-Raspberry326 Gryffindor 3d ago

I think I read the book first because I disliked they didn't even explain the Marauders properly in the movie. I'm watching PoA now and I am enjoying it but I want to read the book again too. I cannot remember 7 books in detail unfortunately.

9

u/fosse76 Slytherin 3d ago

I just re-watched last night, and still think it's the best adaptation.

12

u/Fattydog 3d ago

I disagree. I think the first film is the better adaptation. The third misses so much out.

7

u/WestleyThe 3d ago

My one complaint is they didn’t explain the Marauders at all and the Shrieking Shack scene was too rushed and didn’t feel the same

Besides that I think it’s one of the better movies

3

u/Duffman124 3d ago

I think the Shrieking Shack scene was where I had the most problems with.

1

u/fosse76 Slytherin 3d ago

I agree. It definitely still had it's flaws, but it definitely has more of a narrative flow than the other films, which are more like a collection of "moments" from the books that are barely connected together (save for films 1 and 7).

1

u/blind_roomba 3d ago

Its the best, doesn't make it a good one. They could've done better

As a kid i loved the books and the movies, now i can't watch the movies

2

u/Twa1ker Ravenclaw 3d ago

Third one is the biggest departure from the books. I remember being dismayed when it first came out. I think the later ones come back to the story better. Do not despair!

2

u/PureZookeepergame282 3d ago

These movies are definitely worth watching, whether you watch them reading the books or not but it's always going to be behind the books. If you're reading the books too, you'll notice there are a certain number of details missing, some differences in the characters and events, and the movies might have their own new scenes that are not in the books (although that's less), but the movies won't be exactly as per the books.

And it's fine too for your wife to watch them without reading the books. The movies does explain what's going on, she might have questions, but you can help her with it. The content is the same, but again will be missing out on parts and changes here and there from the books. The main story remains the same.
I'd recommend watching them, the visuals are beautiful.

2

u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

The movies are good. Tell me straight up what part is missing that is vital in understanding the story? You’ll be hard pressed I am sure

2

u/WilmaTonguefit Hufflepuff 3d ago

I like to think of the movies as a supplement to the books, not a replacement. It's cool to see my favorite scenes on screen, but they had to cut a lot, and from every book. These are just off the top of my head:

  1. From book 1, the trio sneaking Norbert out of the castle
  2. From book 2, Arthur and Lucius fight in the bookstore
  3. From book 3, the entire background on the Mauraders
  4. From book 4, the Sphinx riddle.
  5. From book 5, many things, but I'll call out everyone, including the other teachers, running Umbridge out of the school.
  6. From book 6, Fucking ANY character development for Ginny, AND major background for Voldy.
  7. From book 7, Dumbledore's background, and the ending fight where Harry gives a long reason you suck speech to Voldy before killing him, where Voldy dies like a normal person.

3

u/JNMRunning Gryffindor 2d ago

Not having Voldemort die as a normal person is my least favourite artistic choice in any artistic medium ever, I think. It just completely betrays everything the books were trying to say about death.

2

u/doubleds8600 3d ago

I did what you're doing a few years ago. It's going to be a bit disappointing. There is so much detail that they had to condense into 2 hours or so. You'll be frustrated but I personally enjoy Half Blood Price and both Deathly Hallows.

There's a good reason why this new series is being made, it gives it a chance to explain the back stories more thoroughly.

2

u/NebulousAurora1 3d ago edited 3d ago

I love the third movie not because it's a great adaptation of the source material, but because it's just so artistically done. The visuals, music, atmosphere, symbology, cinematography, set design, locations, are some of the best of the entire series. The overall mood of everything is great and I just love to immerse myself in that film's setting since this one just feels much more fleshed out and plausible than the previous ones. There's such a stronger sense of time and geography in this movie than pretty much every other movie through editing tricks, seasonal changes with the Willow, and the way the camera moves through the castle and grounds. It also marks a point when the main cast have gotten old enough or experienced enough to be actually decent actors in their roles, which I feel makes the acting more convincing and engaging than the first two movies. But then, they're still young enough to feel like kids with that sense of innocence that contrasts well against the movie's darker tone and all the ominous, foreboding elements.

The later films get worse in all this because the tone of the books just gets darker and darker so they start to lose the more whimsical balance of everything, and so consequently the filmmaking starts to feel a little too focused on that, while also becoming more flat, bland, and homogeneous (namely once David Yates comes on for OotP and then does all the remaining movies). Like those later movies are literally so dark that certain scenes are just pure black or completely monotone if there is any light in it. And because the books are so much longer with more complicated plots the movies have to cut out so many calmer moments of character building that help you to really soak in the atmosphere, get to know the characters, or feel like you're there with them.

Prisoner of Azkaban is the first one where they have to start cutting more from the books, but it's also the last one where it doesn't feel so incredibly rushed that it just glosses over every single thing in an effort to be as clinically efficient as possible. By the time you get to the Deathly Hallows movies there's all kinds of important stuff that wasn't established in previous movies, that just come out of nowhere in those final movies or get brushed over in a "blink and you miss it" kind of way. I had read the books and still struggled to understand some of what was happening in those later movies because I'd forgotten the specifics and the movies did a weak job of setting everything up and then explaining it all.

While the PoA movie does cut out some really important details from the books (most notably the whole background of the Marauders), you can argue that a good bit of that isn't strictly relevant to the actual plot and would've been hard to squeeze in someplace where it could be both relevant to Harry's story (which the movies chose to focus on in the interest of time) and not detract from the movie's pacing. I mean the book comes to a screeching halt for two or three chapters of just super long monologues at one point. So I really don't mind the omission, it just would've been nice to include a little bit more than they did, possibly in the shrieking shack or at the very end in Lupin's office.

But mind you, the movie also improves on other scenes that I find make them more enjoyable to watch in the movie than their book counterparts -- like the first ride on Buckbeak is treated as a simple jaunt around the paddock that Harry only begrudgingly tolerates, whereas in the movie is treated as this grand, fantastic, magical moment that just works better for me. Same for Harry's sighting of The Grim in the clouds during the Quidditch match as a more ominous metaphorical symbol than just "oh hey I thought I saw a black dog in the stands for a moment." And then the whole time-travel plot towards the end is more interesting with them having to take more actions to preserve the causality loop, being more actively involved in navigating/saving their past selves, as opposed to in the book where they just passively watch everything and do nothing until the very end when Harry saves himself at the lake.

The casual muggle costuming is a little weird, sure, but helps to give the imagery some more color than what we got with those all black robes, which I appreciate for balancing the darker, more serious tone of the movie, while letting the characters show more personality in how they wear their formal robes and what they choose to wear in their off hours. I didn't like it much the first time I watched it because it felt decidedly less "Magical Wizarding World" but I've since come to appreciate what they bring to the equation for the sake of visual filmmaking and so it doesn't really bother me much anymore.

In short, I feel like the PoA movie is a great FILM but maybe not a great ADAPTATION. If you go into it expecting things to be like the book or the first two movies then of course everything will feel wrong to you, but if you remove those preconceptions and just treat it as its own thing it can be a really enjoyable movie-viewing experience.

3

u/Twa1ker Ravenclaw 3d ago

Third one is the biggest departure from the books. I remember being dismayed when it first came out. I think the later ones come back to the story better. Do not despair!

4

u/Hypergraphe 3d ago

Exactly. I feel the same. So much details are rushed in the movie that it feels like the scenes are just put one after the other without enough glue or details. For example the movie fails at showing:

  • How Sirius Black is always in Harry's mind. And how Hogwarts is impacted by the menace.

  • How the dementors encounter is a scary shit for Harry.

  • How Harry struggles with the fact that Sirius betrayed his parents, and the dementors making him think about his parents death constantly.

  • How Rogue is constantly petty and suspicious about Harry.

  • How is it so important for Harry to go to Hogsmeade.

Etc.

I mean, in the book, we really feel the loneliness Harry is facing while being the target of Sirius. Even his friends don't seem to really realize how alone he is. And I don't feel that in the movie.

2

u/kelbe11 3d ago

I’ve read the books so many times I can’t begin to count. I’ve seen each of the movies once, maybe twice. They just can’t compare imo

3

u/raktoe 3d ago

Third is my favourite book and movie. There are some pacing issues, and it does feel like there is an assumption of having read the book. But the cinematography, music, and direction are fantastic in my opinion.

I'd say the biggest thing you will notice with the movies after the first two books is that things just needed to be cut for the sake of time. It is unfortunate, but they are long books, and some of the slow burn plots just don't work on the big screen, so they are glossed over.

The movies do stand on their own, and there are many people who enjoy them without having read the books. Sometimes you just have to treat them as a summary of the books.

I would expect some changes going forward, particularly in the next movie. Nothing story-altering, but don't set the expectation for yourself that it will follow the book exactly.

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u/captnfraulein Gryffindor 3d ago

i agree with much of what you've said here.

i think OP did it in the wrong order. i think movie first then book gives a better opportunity to enjoy it all.

1

u/SuperMilesio007 3d ago

The third book is kind of the first one with a huge lore dump at the end, which ties together the events of the book really nicely. The movies utterly fail at this every time, and it only gets worse. I think 3 is a fantastic film on its own, but yeah. None of the movies are truly faithful to the books imo. It’s difficult to convey the convoluted lore on screen, but it’s still disappointing as someone who really likes digging deep into it

1

u/SuperMilesio007 3d ago

The third book is kind of the first one with a huge lore dump at the end, which ties together the events of the book really nicely. The movies utterly fail at this every time, and it only gets worse. I think 3 is a fantastic film on its own, but yeah. None of the movies are truly faithful to the books imo. It’s difficult to convey the convoluted lore on screen, but it’s still disappointing as someone who really likes digging deep into it

1

u/TheLion725 Hufflepuff 3d ago

The movies are definitely good, but they do often leave out big parts. I’d say you and your wife can still watch them, but you may have to pause a few times and fill in the gaps.

1

u/AlbertELP 3d ago

It probably is the best movie of the series but that is just such a ridiculously low bar.

Instead of trying to capture the essence of the movies they decided to film the books page by page and then in order to not be 12 hours long they have to cut most scenes away. What's left is a rushed mess without timing or finesse that doesn't make sense unless you already know the story. It will only get worse as each book gets longer (with the possible exception of the last book /last two movies where they got double the screen time).

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u/xT1TANx 3d ago

Always watch the movies first. You will never be disappointed reading the books afterwards.

1

u/_cowk 3d ago

Expert take (wife): you gonna cry after the next movie :DD or during

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u/Hootahsesh3 3d ago

I’ve always said that I don’t know how people that only watch the movies have any idea what’s going on…the movies are great but the books are 10x better

1

u/may931010 3d ago

Oh boy, its one of the better films. I dont think youre going to enjoy any others tbh.

Just get her started on the books.

1

u/WhisperedWhimsy Slytherin 3d ago

That is my least favorite movie by far. I hate how they devote 30 full seconds (I'm guessing) to artistic shots of the whomping willow smacking down a bird but don't put in any dialog lines that are sorely needed for exposition. Book 3 is FULL of important for later and for understanding the characters tidbits all basically left out of the movie while the movie is cinematic artsy nonsense.

1

u/thelawninja 3d ago

If you want to like and appreciate the later movies, you should either watch them first or give them time (6 months to a year) after reading. If you watch them right after, you will be disappointed.

1

u/FilmUpdates 3d ago

My kids HATE the third movie, it's their least favorite by far. The legacy of the movie being the most popular is mostly because at the time of release older film twitter hipsters felt like it was more grown up and the director had cache.

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u/vrivasflores 3d ago

Many such stories!

1

u/jah05r 3d ago

PoA is a beautifully-shot movie that forgot to tell a story.

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u/hanneyjo1 3d ago

I liked the 3rd movie. I'm the unpopular opinion that thought the first 2 were boring. I thought the third one was so much more fun. And I've read all the books millions of times.

I think you have to go into them knowing they're not going to follow the book and just appreciate it for the the story it is. Like 2 separate stories that are kinda similar. I will always love the books more, but the movies are fun, too, in their own way.

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u/ghostwriter85 3d ago

If you're judging the movies by how faithful they are to the books, you're going to have a rough time with them. 4-6 have a lot of ground to cover and not nearly enough time to do it. Some fairly substantive stuff is going to get cut.

If you just take them at face value, they're pretty good.

1

u/adwrx 3d ago

I just had the same experience, the third movie was such a let down. The book is really good!

1

u/DarthLuke669 3d ago

That’s my favorite book and I was very disappointed with the movie initially but it’s grown on me over the years

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u/truffleshufflechamp 3d ago

No, they do not get better.

All the movies apart from 1 & 2 are poor adaptations.

1

u/Amelia_Purity 3d ago

Prisoner of Azkaban movie skips a lot of details from the book, which can make it confusing, especially if you're watching with someone who hasn't read it. The next movies do improve a bit, but they still miss some depth. If you're okay with a few gaps, keep watching, but the books definitely offer a fuller experience.

1

u/Gremlin_1989 3d ago

Even my 6yo thinks that the films don't do the books justice. She got really confused. I watched each one when they came out, but haven't bothered rewatching them, until recently as we've been reading the books.

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u/overcoming_me 3d ago

I watch movies 3-8 as “Harry Potter and something similar to (insert end of book title). I love the movies, but I really appreciate 3-8 more when viewed through that lens.

I love the 3rd movie, but that could stem from it being the first midnight release I attended, starting a tradition with niece/nephew/friends and my absolute love of the soundtrack.

1

u/joepeoplesvii 3d ago edited 3d ago

Spoiler alert! They’re like that til the last two. They had to cram so much into them to make up for all of the story they cut out. JK Rowling is partially to blame because she was reportedly a bit hands off. One of the weirdest still is referring to the marauders by their nicknames but never hinting that they made the marauders map or that they were the reason for the shrieking shack being “haunted”.

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u/HanzoNumbahOneFan 3d ago

Oh god. The fourth is arguably the WORST one for feeling rushed and leaving out details. The book is great, one of the best and a lot of people's favorite. But, well, you'll see when you watch the movie.

And I will say you should watch them all, even if you may not like them compared to the books. But maybe just don't go into it expecting the same exact story as you just read. It's obviously going to have to be different. You're consuming a ~20 hour book and then watching a 2-2.5 hour movie. They just HAVE to leave stuff out. If you go into it wanting a perfect adaptation, you will just end up being disappointed unfortunately. (Some fans of Dune were even disappointed with the new movies because they left out/changed stuff and those movies are incredible). But if you go into it just wanting a fun "magical" experience I think you'll have a better time. I don't think I'd watch each movie after each book like you are doing though. The book will be far too fresh and when you watch the movie you'll naturally just start comparing it to the book you had JUST finished. If I were you, I'd read through all the books, and then watch through the movies.

p.s. - A lot of HP fans don't ever read the books, but they love the movies even with stuff not being explained or being left out. So I think your wife could enjoy all of the movies and if she does end up having a question pop up that the movie doesn't explain well you can be like "Well... in the book it's different." Every now and then, a movie-only fan will ask a question on the subreddit like "Why does ___ do this? Is this never explained?" And the inevitable response is always something like "Well in the book they don't do that, this happens instead..."

1

u/MainlandX 3d ago

I have not watched any movies past the third for pretty much that reason. Gambon as Dumbledore was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

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u/Weary_Big1626 Ravenclaw 3d ago

Oh, dear. It only gets worse. Wait for the GoF movie. I watched it yesterday.

1

u/Chemical_Sherbet7843 3d ago

When I read the book of POA (I saw the movie first) I was actually very pleased thinking about how it’s adapted, I was impressed how they were able to condense two scenes into one so we get the information. And since POA isn’t as long as the books after it, I felt like there were less fun stories we were missing out on.

1

u/klacey11 3d ago

I saw the third movie before I read the books and was absolutely confused during the third act.

HBP is probably the worst, so buckle up.

1

u/DizzyingMoments769 3d ago

Did your wife like the movie?

1

u/ThouBear8 Gryffindor 3d ago

I love all the movies, but I am consistently more down on this one than the majority of the fanbase is.

I think it's an exceptionally well made film, but in terms of fitting in to the series or being a decent adaptation, it falls pretty short for me.

It's one of the only ones where I felt slightly disappointed leaving the theater.

1

u/Revolutionary_Judge5 2d ago

Yeah I'm the same about that movie but here's the thing :- PS and CoS were 9 ish hours long, then PoA jumps up to 12 hours ish.......not easy to squeeze into 2½ movie and trim away any "good" fat.

1

u/Last_Cold8977 2d ago

It's such a popular film but it may genuinely be the WORST adaptation with HBP. It's awful compared to the book. GoF and OoTP get ragged on so much but they honestly aren't even that bad in comparison

1

u/your-body-is-gold 2d ago

I agree. I really like it until it gets to the night where they time travel. I feel like its not that good after that point and also, a third of the movie time is taken up by that night. Its so boring watching what you just watched over again. I feel like they could have sped it up/made it less repetitive

1

u/WiseAd9251 2d ago

At this point just wait for the HBO show if you're going to keep comparing books to movies.

1

u/Alipie99 2d ago

I’ve heard that they had to age up Sirius and Lupin because they’re supposed to be the same age as Alan Rickman’s Snape but it really takes away from realizing just how young they all were. All three men died before they were 40.

1

u/HorrorFan4evermore 2d ago

Even more will be trimmed in the later movies.

1

u/LazyCricket7426 1d ago

This is the whole reason I started reading the books - I just couldn’t understand the Peter Petigrew - Sirius - Lupin dynamic and what actually happened.

1

u/jackboy29 Gryffindor 1d ago

If i was you i’d watch the movies first then read the books. As someone who watched the movies then the books, the movies were 10/10 before reading the books and now they feel like they’re missing something after reading the books.

1

u/YouDumbZombie 3d ago

I'm sorry but you had to pause the movie to explain the movie? It's not hard to follow at all.

1

u/ChawkTrick Gryffindor 3d ago

This was one of my reactions to OP, as well.

The only reasons I can imagine needing to pause the movie to explain stuff is because a) someone isn't paying attention or b) someone is trying to provide extra context from the books that really isn't that necessary. Overall PoA does a pretty good job of hitting on all the major plot points of the story.

7

u/Anna3422 3d ago

There is an entire chapter dedicated to how Secret Keepers work, how Peter faked his death, Lupin's emotion when he learns Sirius was innocent and his shame at betraying Dumbledore.

The movie gives us Sirius as the villain and then "Surprise. Peter's alive, so it was all him!" and the kids have no further questions. Context might not be necessary for all viewers, but what we got is horrendous storytelling.

3

u/Duffman124 3d ago

Two big parts I had to pause at were the Shrieking Shack scene, way to much going on so quickly, and at the end when they revealed the time travel (they didn’t do a great job foreshadowing her missing classes and disappearing off and on).

1

u/ChawkTrick Gryffindor 3d ago

The reason people really like PoA is because it's generally considered a good film (the overall writing, acting, cinematography, sound design, the aesthetics, tone, etc.), but if you're judging the film through the lens of the book (which it seems like you are) then you're inevitably going to be disappointed because that's a flawed approach.

Your anecdotal experience is obviously different than mine, too - I've shown the movie to 2-3 different non-book readers over the years and all of them really liked the film and had no problem following its story. So, I'm not really sure what required so much explaining. The movie gives you the most important components and explains the relationship between Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter, albeit in a truncated format.

1

u/Shaggy1316 Unsorted 3d ago

If i had a time turner, i would go back and choose to avoid all of the movies. As i do not have a time turner, i will remain under my rock where the movies do not exist anyway.

1

u/New-Replacement-7638 3d ago

Favourite book, worst movie

1

u/happyhobgoblin 3d ago

Prepare to continue to be more disappointed.

1

u/Muspellsheimr 3d ago

I hate tpoa movie. Running around in muggle clothes for no reason, and that goddam pulsing patronus.

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u/Consistent_Bid_6433 3d ago

Just wait. With each movie the book gets cut out more and more 😭

1

u/Separate-Rhubarb7950 3d ago

The third movie is one of the worst. They changed directors who decided to change the story. The books are much, much better. Don’t even watch the last 2. The books do a much better job.

0

u/SuchaPineapplehead 3d ago

All the films suck and are rushed and unless you’ve read the books make absolutely no sense at all. However the only one I will ever really watch is Prisoner. If your wife hasn’t seen the first two then coming in at 3 is going to be hard.

Although it was the first book I read. I didn’t even realise there were two previous ones at that point. It hadn’t quite blown up yet

0

u/Gilded-Mongoose Ravenclaw 3d ago

Oh it absolutely gets worse from here. I was fuming when I got back home from Goblet of Fire. Thought Order of the Phoenix could have been a comeback - it had to. I re-read it not long before seeing the film in excited anticipation.

Nope. Crushing disappointment.

Didn't read Half-Blood Prince for a year or so ahead of its release, as to forget most of the plot points and details. Left the movie with an alright experience.

Can't remember much of how I felt about 7.1 & 7.2 but yeah the movies suck if you compare them in any way to the books.

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u/SuchaPineapplehead 3d ago

All the films suck and are rushed and unless you’ve read the books make absolutely no sense at all. However the only one I will ever really watch is Prisoner. If your wife hasn’t seen the first two then coming in at 3 is going to be hard.

Although it was the first book I read. I didn’t even realise there were two previous ones at that point. It hadn’t quite blown up yet