<P> Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle lauded the film's more mature tone and said it was "darker, more complex, rooted in character ." The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a deeper, darker, visually arresting and more emotionally satisfying adaptation of the J.K. Rowling literary phenomenon," especially compared to the first two installments . Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three - and - a-half out of four stars: "Not only is this dazzler by far the best and most thrilling of the three Harry Potter movies to date, it's a film that can stand on its own even if you never heard of author J.K. Rowling and her young wizard hero ." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com asserts it to be "one of the greatest fantasy films of all time ." Nicole Arthur of The Washington Post praised the film as "complex, frightening, (and) nuanced ." Roger Ebert gave the film three - and - a-half out of four stars, saying that the film was not quite as good as the first two, but still called it "delightful, amusing and sophisticated" Claudia Puig from USA Today found the film to be "a visual delight," and added that "Cuarón is not afraid to make a darker film and tackle painful emotions ." while Richard Roeper called the film "a creative triumph ." Sean Smith from Newsweek said: "The Prisoner of Azkaban boasts a brand - new director and a bold new vision," he also called the film "moving," praising the performances by the three main leads, while Entertainment Weekly praised the film for being more mature than its predecessors . </P> <P> Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for Best Original Music Score (John Williams) and Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards held in 2005 . This was the second film in the series to be nominated for an Oscar . </P> <P> The film also ranks at No. 471 in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time . IGN designated Prisoner of Azkaban as the fifth best fantasy film . Additionally, Moviefone designated the film as the tenth best of the decade . In 2011, the film was voted Film of the Decade at the First Light Awards by children aged 5--15 . </P> <Dl> <Dt> American Film Institute recognition </Dt> </Dl>

Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban movie wiki