Hang in there, the good part's coming

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The movie

So many things in this movie flew by so fast that it felt like I was watching in fast-forward. I suppose that's because I read the book first. Do others find that when you've read the book first, the movie seems too fast because you realize all that it's skipping and condensing.

I invite everyone's thoughts on the subject.

Otherwise, the climax that begins with Sirius in his dog form dragging Ron beneath the whomping willow was pretty good. Things slowed down a bit. Before that scene, the movie seemed disjointed at times. I wondered that if I hadn't read the book, would I have any idea what is going on. Ultimately this story is about Sirius Black and the moviemakers know that. Obviously, the want to get some other things in there to please the book fans, but it has to be tough to do that without getting bogged down.

So I will work at giving them the benefit of the doubt on the first half moving too fast.

Otherwise, I have quibbles with the portrayals of Black and Lupin. Black wasn't mangy enough and Lupin wasn't pathetic enough. Nor did Lupin look old enough. I know he is the age of Black and Harry's parents and Snape, but I figured he would look more like one who had aged prematurely. And he was the most hairless werewolf I have ever seen.

Peter Pettigrew, however, looked perfectly like the vermin he is.

The Marauder's Map was cool. I want one.