Ranking the 'Harry Potter' Films

In the wake of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them being released this weekend, it had me thinking over the eight previous Harry Potter films and how they rank in terms of my personal preference.

So without further ado; here are the eight Potter films ranked, starting from least to greatest:

8) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

It's a daunting task to condense the largest of JK Rowling's Potter novels (over 800 pages) into a two and a half hour film, and director David Yates along with screenwriter Michael Goldenberg did a fine job of fitting in all of the important information that they could into the movie's running time. However, the fifth film in the franchise has quite a hard time with balancing its tone. Following the darkest installment up to that point, Order of the Phoenix seems more concerned with slapstick comedy than trying to dig deep into Harry's psyche as the two films prior did such a wonderful job of doing. It also doesn't help that David Yates is a serviceable director, but never seems to have a directing style that really defines him, or makes his work stand out. In fact, many of his shots seem intentionally colorless or lacking any vibrancy, which kind of takes away from magic of the franchise. This is a problem with all of his subsequent Potter sequels, and I hope Fantastic Beasts is where he finally choses to shine.

Problems aside though, the weakest Potter movie still retains its wonderful cast from the four films prior and three terrific newcomers in the form of Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix, Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, and Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge.

7) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Most of the CGI has not aged well in the past fifteen years. A lot of the child acting is borderline grating (i.e. Emma Watson). And even the humor doesn't quite work as well for adults as it does for the 5-10 year old crowd. All of this aside, The Sorcerer's Stone is where it all began and its whimsy and colorful characters still make it an important film to not only my generation, but for the generations it is already being passed down to. While the books were already flying off the shelves, to many young fans (myself included) the Chris Columbus film is where our journey with Harry Potter and the world of Hogwarts began. For millennials, this was our Star Wars. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were our Luke, Han, and Leia. And we no longer needed to look to a galaxy far, far away for escapism, but rather this magical, wizarding world of J.K. Rowling.

So while this film is low on the list, and pales in comparison to most of its follow-ups, the importance of The Sorcerer's Stone can not be overstated.

6) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

While still quite tame compared to many of the later entries in the franchise, Chris Columbus' second time in the director's chair for this Potter sequel amped up the fear factor, along with a healthy dose of more adult themes. Kenneth Branagh is just having a blast as superstar author and new Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor; Gilderoy Lockhart, the effects are noticeably improved from the first (including a far more ferocious Quidditch sequence), Dobby is a wonderful CGI character, the final fight with the frightening basilisk is fantastic, and it's not afraid to get Daniel Radcliffe pretty bloodied up early on in his Potter career. It has problems with pacing in its final act, along with some jokes still not landing, but Chamber of Secrets sets up a good foundation for what was to come.

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

The grand finale to the Harry Potter saga was great, yet still left me feeling a little disappointed. Aside from my mixed feelings on the style of director David Yates (refer back to my thoughts on Order of the Phoenix) most of what I find to be shortcomings are just nitpicks of a person whose favorite book in the series is Deathly Hallows. I wish it focused more on how all-encompassing the Battle of Hogwarts was as described in the book, and I also would've preferred hiring older actors to play the aged versions of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and so on, just because I find the old-age makeup rather unconvincing. Nitpicks aside though, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a perfect sendoff to all of these wonderful characters and gives many of the actors (i.e. the late Alan Rickman as Snape) to shine in a way they hadn't in the previous seven films. 

P.S. They should've done a different take of Mrs. Weasley calling Bellatrix a bitch rather than the one that's in the final product. That read like holy scripture in Rowling's book.

4)  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

The most underrated film in the Potter franchise. Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is undoubtedly over two hours of build up to the bombastic finale, however its somber tone and basis in the real world make it arguably the most grown-up of the eight movies. David Yates is actually at his best here, aesthetically. He's very good at capturing small character moments, and his love for the handheld camerawork really shines when our characters are hiding out in the woods or going incognito in downtown London. It's the least magical of the films, and a lot of the magic is performed in muggle hotspots. One of the moments that really strikes me is when a wand battle breaks out between our three main heroes and two death eaters inside of a diner. The camera is tight and shaky and each character takes cover behind a table or chair as plates and mugs shatter. It feels like a Jason Bourne version of a Harry Potter wand duel. These surprising moments of realism, combined with the best performances Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have ever given in these movies makes this worth a second look.

3) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Half-Blood Prince is made by its performances. It has some wonderful action sequences and special effects, but its the actors who really shine in this film. The sixth installment of the franchise is an emotional roller coaster and we see characters in ways we've never seen them before. Michael Gambon's Albus Dumbledore goes through absolute hell in this movie, and the calm and collected headmaster of Hogwarts seems to disappear right before the viewers eyes as the film goes on. In one of the most memorable sequences, Dumbledore is drinking poison in an attempt to find one of Voldemort's horcruxes and the pain is so intolerable that Harry has to force this poison down his mentor's throat in order to go on with the task, even as Dumbledore is begging Harry to kill him. That's heavy stuff and I can still remember parents taking their kids out of the theater for a few minutes when I saw this in theaters. But Radcliffe and Gambon really sell it. As does legendary character actor, Jim Broadbent as the oddly paranoid Professor Slughorn. Even Rupert Grint's Ron gets some really interesting changes to his character which I always found lacking for him prior to Half-Blood Prince. However, the real surprise is Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. His bully facade is practically shed and we see a frightened young man trapped in a horrible situation. 

2) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

What many consider to be the best of the film series, Prisoner of Azkaban showed just how universally loved the Potter movies were. This is a dark movie and one that doesn't shy away from its  frightening moments thanks to one of the 21st century's most renowned directors, Alfonso Cuaron. Harry believes that an escaped prisoner by the name of Sirius Black ratted his parents out to Voldemort, making him responsible for their murder. Thirteen year old Harry actually says he's going to find him and kill him when he gets the chance. Again, dark stuff for a family movie, but I love how the screenwriters and director don't shy away from Harry's anger and that he isn't looked down upon for his initial, violent reaction. The always wonderful Gary Oldman plays Sirius Black with so many layers of frightening, sadness, loneliness, to kindness. He and Harry's relationship is undoubtedly one of the most powerful in the franchise and seeing it blossom here is wonderful. The direction is beautiful too with a wide array of colors and varying set designs. Dementors, werewolves, time travel, and John William's last Potter score understandably make this many people's favorite.

1) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

While the previous two movies kept hinting at something dark to come, this is when the rug was pulled out from under our characters. At this point in the franchise, everything changed for Harry as well as the audience. Goblet of Fire is the Harry Potter movie I used to watch almost religiously. From its show-stopping dragon sequence, to the epic reveal of Ralph Fienne's terrifying Voldemort, to the heartbreaking finale, this one has it all. This is when I felt as if the Harry Potter movies were gonna grow up with me as opposed to me growing out of them. Director Mike Newell and screenwriter Steve Kloves don't pull any punches when the going gets rough for our hero, yet they still find room for quite a lot of lovely humor and romance sprinkled throughout. The concept of the "Yule Ball" is particularly wonderful and incorporates some great teenage issues that we hadn't seen up until this point in the series. 

Goblet of Fire has it all. Horror, action, romance, and unrelenting tragedy. To me, this one can't be beat.

Article by: Josh McCormack