With two down and two to go, this is make or break time for Harry Potter. Director Chris Columbus (Home Alone) bailed citing family concerns, a departure that allowed a committed studio to realign their franchise. Enter Mexico’s Alfonso Cuáron (Y Tu Mama Tambien) whose helmsman-ship has produced an altogether better movie.

For a start he doesn’t try to squash the book onto the screen, preferring to tell the story in cinematic, not literary, terms. While some characters and plot-points are missing, his diet gives the film a striking energy. Cuaron also strips back the Disney-gloss that is a trademark of Columbus’s efforts: the result is much darker, grimier and more grown-up than the previous Potter productions. It’s scarier too - more like the book in fact. Whereas Harry and his friends were virtually forced out of the first two by a magical world of digital splendour, Azkaban puts them back in the middle of the action.

It’s a tangible tale in which the most-wanted Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) escapes Azkaban prison on a vengeful mission. Accused of murdering Harry’s parents, this killer is on his way to Hogwarts. While the spiralling plot of demented creatures and time-shifting befuddled some younger viewers, the relative complexity should make it more appealing for kids of all ages: a beautifully crafted film they can revel in time and again. Unfortunately Cuaron is not working on the next instalment and has handed over to Mike Four Weddings Newell. Ironically, this will be the first time this most English story will be directed by an Englishman.

// COLIN FRASER