10 Movie Threequels That Redeemed Their Franchise

The first two comings of Harry Potter were like a steaming mug of butterbeer on a winter’s day – all good natured-fun, shot classically, bathed in classic Hollywood lighting and helmed by a seasoned crowd pleaser in Chris Columbus. But what the franchise needed by this point was a foray into the darker side of wizarding life, a notion that author J K Rowling had been hinting at from the moment the boy wonder landed on Privet Drive.

Enter, then, The Prisoner Of Azkaban; as far a departure from The Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber Of Secrets as one could imagine, this offering from Alfonso Cuaron (a masterstroke of a directorial appointment) was a leaner and far meaner beast that was nothing short of autumn encapsulated on the screen.

Helped by this being one of Rowling’s best entries in the series, Cuaron took her vision of Potter entering into his own heart of darkness and conjured up vivid imagery (blood splattering onto pumpkins, the expressionist artitectiure of the shrieking shack) to great effect.

It’s become something of a parody now, with every Potter film released being billed as darker and grittier, but it was the bold choices within this third coming that moulded the series. Even today there isn’t a better blockbuster to put on during a foggy October night.