All 8 Harry Potter Movies Ranked

So by this point it is safe to say that everyone and their dog are aware of the fact that the last harry potter film has just roared into theaters. Seriously, this thing is bigger then Jesus. So it should come to no surprise that I count myself fortunate in being among the millions and millions of people who have seen this movie.

I figure that with the new movie having just been released, this would be the very best time to rank the Harry Potter movies in my eyes. I’m going to start with the absolute worst, and go down from there. But quick warning though. Among the things I nerd out about is Harry Potter. I could write three pages about the role of vampires in the Harry Potter universe if I had too. So my opinion of the movies will of course be influenced by the books from which they sprang from. Though ironically enough, not in the way you would expect.

8The Order of the Phoenix

Order of the Pheonix is my favorite HP book beyond ant trace of a doubt. The way that all of the subplots come together, and the density of the narrative makes it stand out as the best of the seven in my mind. But for the same reason that the book succeeded, the movie failed. Where a book has a lot of time to create an effective narrative, a movie has comparatively little. If they cut out some of my favorite subplots from the five hours of adapted screen time from Deathly Hallows, then how will they fit the even denser narrative of the fifth book into an hour and a half? The answer is badly. The longest harry potter book, simply shouldn’t be the shortest movie. The minute ignored any attempt to make likable characters or work with a good story, and merely rushed to get all the major plot points in. It was Harry Potter with none of the magic.

7 The Goblet of Fire

This one was the point where many of the issues in pacing and adapting began to show. Yet it wasn’t as problematic as the fifth one was. This probably has more to do with the fact that the book had less content and the movie had more run time then anything. Ultimately I left the movie disappointed. The Tri-Wizard Tournament wasn’t nearly as interesting as it should have been, nor was the Quidich world cup. When I read the events of the book, then I picture epic conflict, yet I got none of that. The film maker here seemed to really lack vision. The only thing that really struck me the right way about this movie was Voldemort. Since they showed He Who Must Not Be Named on the big screen for the first time, he has definitively earned his place among the best dark lords of all time.

6 The Prisoner of Azkaban

A lot of people hold the third movie to a very high regard. In fact, plenty of people consider it to be the best movie of the series so far. But I never quite got that vibe from the movie. It wasn’t bad, and it certainly felt very much like a Potter film. But the plot wasn’t quite as dynamic as the plots of the second or first movie, and coming into the movie that was certainly felt. And Wormtail simply wasn’t a very engaging or threatening antagonist. Ultimately though, it was placing that sets it’s place near the back of the franchise for me. The first two movies did such amazing things with tone that coming after them, the third movie couldn’t quite stack up. It never felt as wholesome or as incredible as it did in the second movie.

5The Half-Blood Prince

This is the point where the movies start to enter firmly into the love territory for me. Coming into the theater for this one, I was very cynical. After the last few movies I expected nothing much from the Boy Who Lived. Yet within minutes of the movie I was treated to one of my all time favorite scenes in the movie franchise. It was such a wonderful take on events that were only described in the book, that I was in love at first sight. The person who they got to make this film clearly knew what they were doing. Some scene’s were lost in translation. But ultimately the strong tone was still felt. By the time it was over I really did feel like I was watching a Wizarding world slowly coming to terms with the fact that the war with Voldemort was not going to be won conventionally.

4The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

A lot of people have been considering this to be the very best of the Potter films. While I don’t disagree that it is a really great film, I felt that the plot was a little lean for it to really stand up to the very best of the potter films. Of course this one was easily the most action packed though. And the atmosphere was really great. Furthermore, I didn’t expect them to do much with the plot with this one. All this movie was the adaption of the climactic battle of the series. All of the good plot and character development was saved for the previous film. Though, the part from the boathouse scene all the way to the climactic duel was among my favorite moments in the franchise. The emotion that were put into that scene were very heartfelt and was one of the many reasons I love this film. Yet, I still can’t quite give it the nod as best in the series, or even top three.

3The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

I honestly debated giving this one the number two slot. It was such a good movie that it feels guilty to give it any less. The director, David Yates, that they got for the last few movies really knew what he is doing. Like with the previous film there was a standout scene that was not from the book, though this time not at the beginning of the movie. To put it bluntly, the montage with the radio was downright troubling. I had to stop from having manly tears roll down my cheek as the radio gave off the list of people Voldemort had killed in the past week. Furthermore, I simply enjoyed the pacing of the movie. I was very worried that they would try to make it exciting and lose the good character moments that happened at the beginning of the last book. But knowing that the movie would be profitable even if it was just muskrats farting for an hour and a half, the producers let the film be character centric, and a breath of fresh air before the epic conclusion of the franchise. And I can’t help but say thank you to that.

2The Sorcerer’s Stone

Surprised this isn’t number one? Well don’t be. This movie was a dazzling mega film that brought a kind of youthful and adventurous soul into theaters, bringing the light of one of my favorite franchises to an even wider audience then the already large number of people reading the books. Of course, it isn’t perfect. Some of the scenes were just silly, and the writing wasn’t half as good as it was in the more recent movies. Yet, the way that the movie brought me into the universe of Harry Potter is truly uncanny. What this excellent film got started we only got finished a few days ago. I personally never would never have ended up being half the fan of the universe that I am today if it weren’t for this movie. And for that I am truly grateful.

1 The Chamber of Secrets

This was the point that the franchise really peaked for me. All the great things about the first movie were there in the second one. It was still as magical and uplifting. It still brought me into the universe and made me feel the spirit of adventure. Yet, this movie had things going for it that the first one did not. The plot was more exciting and dynamic, with points of truly marvelous suspense weaved through it. The bonds of friendship that would carry the serious really began to appear as such a driving force here. It was somewhat true of the first one, but I never felt it quite so much enamored with the presentation as I was when watching this one. And the basilisk simply made a cool threat. The final confrontation was epic, and I couldn’t ask for more from a movie. But more then that, I couldn’t ask for more from a franchise. I’m just sad to see it end.

Please read my review of Harry Potter 8 here.

About the author: David Rosen is an aspiring comic book writer, who is a avid consumer of almost every type of media he can get his hands on. A self professed geek, he is knowledgeable in everything from comic books to movies. You can find more by David at www.callitlikeiseeit.com.

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