Harry Potter is back, and his third screen adventure, faithfully adapted (albeit with considerable condensation) from J.K. Rowling's novel, is literally wonderful in all senses of the word. With director Alfonso Cuaron taking over the reins from Christopher Columbus (who helmed the previous two installments) and all three leading actors and the characters they play entering their teens, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN comes in more forcefully from the outset, even before its new plot dynamics and genuinely awe-inspiring special effects come to the fore.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) heads back to the wizarding world a little early this year after a nasty (but funny) confrontation with his mundane and hateful relatives the Dursleys (Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw). Harry finds his beloved Hogwarts School on a sort of red alert. It seems that there has been a first-time-ever escape from the feared Azkaban Prison. The escapee, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), was involved in the murder of Harry's parents and is now believed to be after Harry. Therefore, guards from Azkaban, the monstrous soul-eating Dementors, have been stationed around Hogwarts, much to the disapproval of headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon, taking over the role from the late Richard Harris). Harry and his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) become involved in trying to find Sirius before he finds Harry, which embroils them in several other linked mysteries at the same time they're trying to help their gigantic friend Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) protect a hippogriff.

The hippogriff Buckbeak is indisputably one of the stars of the movie, partly because he turns out to be crucial to the main storyline and partly because he is one of the most charismatic and realistic creatures yet devised by CGI. A cross between a raptor and a horse, with the former's wings and the latter's size and four feet, the hippogriff is riveting in appearance, dimensionality and personality. The Dementors are another highlight, with no punches pulled here. Without being grisly, they are quite nightmarish when we see them from below, floating in the misty sky, their overall appearance suggests something floating in water like jellyfish, while their group movements suggest circling sharks. Kids will feel brave when, like Harry, they are able to endure being in the presence of these beings.

Steve Kloves, back for his third stint as POTTER screenwriter, does a terrific job of getting in an epic amount of plotting in a form that makes sense. The mysteries are so smoothly handled that even people who've read the books may feel some suspense, while some magic involving a brief trip back in time is handled with great clarity and cohesion.

Cuaron gives the film a sense of urgency and inquiry we are caught up in all of the story's clues and twists. What is the secret of kindly and wise Professor Lupin (David Thewlis)? How can Harry's enchanted map show the movements of someone who is dead? How can Hermione manage to take so many classes at once? There's no need to guess as to why Harry is so afraid of the Dementors they scare the heck out of us, too. After a few not-so-persuasive matte jobs in the earlier films, it is a pleasure to report that AZKABAN gets all of the flying right. A rainy Quidditch game, with Hogwarts students sailing around on broomsticks, looks very good, but it is trumped by Harry's flight on the hippogriff, which soars visually and emotionally. Who wouldn't want to be borne skyward on such a steed?

The acting is excellent, with Radcliffe bringing an actual sense of danger as well as determination and honesty to Harry. Watson and Grint likewise have an added maturity and Thewlis is a beacon of adult wisdom and sanity. Oldman excels as the enigmatic Black, Gambon twinkles agreeably as Dumbledore, Coltrane has appropriate shaggy warmth as Hagrid and Emma Thompson is schticky but very funny as an insensitive Hogwarts instructor.

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN is head and shoulders the best of its film series so far, a movie that really is a treat for fantasy fans of all ages, with enough details large and small to make repeat viewings worthwhile.