Over the past few months, I have reread the Harry Potter series and rewatched all of the movies. In doing this I have re-evaluated many of my opinions that I had previously had of the movies and now feel passionate about this ranking. In writing this, I by no means want to imply that any of these movies are "bad," even the worst movie is still a film I love. Any person who loves a franchise of this sort has this internal ranking in their head, it is time to release mine.
8) The Goblet of Fire
The Goblet of Fire is one of my top Harry Potter books, which is why the movie is even more of a tragedy for me. The film so openly changes so many of the most iconic scenes from the book. This novel also has a large amount of smaller plot lines and mysteries that are completely cut from the movie. It has the action but completely loses the characterization that the book has so much of. I typically skip this movie during a Harry Potter marathon because the adaptation strays so much from the amazing book plot. This is the only movie adaptation in this series that I would label as "bad."
7) The Half Blood Prince
This is the least memorable film in the series. It isn't great, but it isn't bad. The plot does not stray immensely from the book, but it isn't spot on either. This movie ranks so low on the list because of the attempted comedy seen in this film. Director David Yates attempted to incorporate comedy through this movie similar to what is seen in "The Order of The Phoenix," however, it was added in the wrong places. Attempted comedic lines resulted in the ruining of some serious and pivotal scenes. The comedy misfortune can be overlooked, but without it, there is nothing striking about this movie.
6) The Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets movie follows the plot of the book very well. With very few changes it provides very suitable competition to even the Deathly Hallows adaptations in that aspect. This level of accuracy provides this movie with a major fault though, its length. At a whopping 2 hours and 41 minutes, it is the longest movie in the series. This would not be an issue if it weren't for the fact that it is one of the shortest books. The charm of this movie is impeccable, however, with such young actors the film definitely drags on at times.
5) The Sorcerer's Stone
The greatest success that comes from the Sorcerer's Stone movie is the amazing casting of the series and the building of the Harry Potter universe. Director Chris Columbus had the daunting task of creating an entire visual universe just from words and some sketches. He succeeded in this task with flying colors. The story in this book is definitely the most rated G, there is not much action and a lot of what we see is the creation of this in-depth universe. This film does exactly what every first in a series aims to accomplish, it sets up an entire world for future directors and actors to build off of.
4) The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
The Deathly Hallows book was turned into two movies, and as a result, the films are able to see more accuracy in terms of content compared to the books. Also, as a result, the first movie contains rising action while the second contains the main conflict and resolution. I personally love both Deathly Hallows movies with my entire heart. However, the first of the pair can definitely drag on and be slow in some areas due to lack of conflict. With this lack of conflict though, comes more dialogue and a deeper understanding of the characters which I deeply appreciate.
3) The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
This movie is constant action. Compared to the other films where the conflict has to be explained, here we jump right into the fights and battle scenes. This movie is also very accurate when compared to the book, which is something I value greatly in an adaptation. Being the last film in the series, and also the only one I was able to see in theatres, this film holds a very sentimental feeling for me. After years of reading about Harry and fans watching his story, here we finally see his happily ever after.
2) The Prisoner of Azkaban
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, this movie is not the most accurate to the novels of all the Harry Potter movies. However, the filmography of this movie is perfectly artistic. Cuaron uses film techniques that are much more advanced than what is found in the remainder of the movies. He is able to portray the darkness that is rising in the Harry Potter world in the film with arguably the least grim plot. Cuaron changes the direction of what was previously seen of the series, he takes the shift from the previous director Chris Columbus and begins the maturing of these beloved characters.
1) The Order of the Phoenix
The Order of The Phoenix is both my favorite movie and book of this series and I could write a full essay on why. For starters, we get the most Sirius Black(my favorite character) screen time in this movie. The main trio grow up so much through this book and their development is displayed well through this movie. Here we also see the most despicable villain in this series, Dolores Umbridge. Imelda Staunton portrays Umbridge perfectly and delivers an amazing performance that makes me want to yell at the screen every time I see her. It has a balance of characterization along with great action sequences.
I love the Harry Potter series and if you made it through this entire article, you can also see that I am very passionate about it. I will acknowledge that many ideas written here come from a place of personal preference from what I like to see from a movie. However, in the end, this series holds a place in the hearts of millions, and each film is magical in its own way.
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