I really love this one, it’s one of the most well made tentpole films ever.
It’s a big departure from the style of the first 2, but they made the right choice because the overarching story is all about maturation, and going for the same tone as the first 2 over and over again could’ve gotten very stale from a creative standpoint.
I can guarantee that these films would’ve eventually run into the same problem as the recent MCU stuff, had it not been for the choices that were made with this film.
The directing and cinematography is absolutely amazing, it has so many stylish long takes with interesting camera movement, Cuaron is a genius with that stuff.
The story is very solid, and there are many scenes that are entertaining in their own right, whether that’s the bus sequence, the Hippogriff flight or the very tense climax.
Even during exposition scenes, these films always know how to add some interesting beats by using the characters or world in an interesting way.
The new characters are all very well realized as well, and they take some of them in unexpected directions.
The young cast improved significantly compared to the previous 2, though I will say that there’s one emotional beat somewhere in the middle that Daniel Radcliffe kinda oversells.
The score is also very memorable and well done, love the choice of jazz for the knight bus, great idea.
It’s just really entertaining, I’d argue it’s flawless for the kind of film that it is.
One small nitpick though: they really should’ve included an explanation as to why they can’t use time travel all the time. It’s in the book, and its exclusion here kinda messes with the logic of the franchise going forward.

9/10