Ranking the Harry Potter Movies
With 'The Secrets of Dumbledore' out this weekend, we unveil our definitive Harry Potter movies ranking
Harry Potter is back at the movies this weekend! Well, not Mr. Potter, per se, but the HP universe returns with Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. We grew up in the age of Harry Potter mania so it should come as no surprise that we are Hogwarts fans, both the books and films. You can find our combined ranking of all 10 Harry Potter movies (which includes the first two Fantastic Beasts entries) below, as well as each of our individual rankings. Read, share, and tell us why you agree or disagree!
Also, we had a conversation last night on Spotify Live about all things Harry Potter movies! Click here to listen and stay tuned to our Twitter and Instagram for future Spotify Live discussions.
Harry Potter Movies, Ranked
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Billy: Alfonso Cuaron directed it. Blurb over. What I love most about this movie is the use of a device that feels like it should be the gamechanger for the whole franchise, but is contained into a smaller story. The Time-Turner is used in wonderful fashion, an almost MacGuffin-like device that fixes this one story and this story only. It entrances the audience into really paying attention and makes the stakes for our three main characters bigger than they would have been otherwise. That plot device and a Gary Oldman performance for the ages as Sirius Black make this movie a can’t-miss blockbuster.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
Drew: It may be a minor surprise to see Part 1 of Deathly Hallows so high on our list. I know I was a little disappointed when I saw it in theaters back in 2010. It’s slow in spots, much of it takes place in the woods, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are not in a great place in their friendship. However, it’s a wonderful table-setter for the action-packed Part 2, giving our characters time for intimate moments before the momentous Battle of Hogwarts to come. It’s the little scenes, like Harry and Hermione’s dance in the tent, that stick with you for years afterwards.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Billy: A teen comedy-inspired chapter in the Harry Potter story. We take a couple steps back in scale to set up a larger story to come. Here we follow Harry, Ron, and Hermione at an intersection of teen angst and forced maturity. Harry has never felt as alone. His peers don’t believe the reality of incoming doom and his best friends seem to be more worried about their everyday relationships. By the end of this beautifully shot movie the stakes have been raised and any willful shielding of reality these characters wanted is no more. Our funniest Harry Potter movie is also our most grounded, and a scale of blockbuster we don’t get to see much anymore.
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Drew: Look, ending a massive and beloved series is a remarkably difficult proposition (hi, Game of Thrones!), but the final installment of the Harry Potter films nailed it with a conclusion that’s equally electrifying and satisfying. Yes, it feels like a half of a movie (because it is), but Deathly Hallows - Part 2 strikes the balance between thrilling action, graceful character development, and teary-eyed emotion. Not many popular franchises get a finale this excellent.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Billy: I can’t imagine a world where this movie missed and we didn’t get the rest of these. Director Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire) comes in to take on this massive challenge. Three kid actors leading a franchise with a slew of Hall of Fame-worthy British actors supporting anything they lack. Casting is pinpoint, our direction creates a perfectly lived-in feel that enhances the skills of our kid actors, and leaves us wanting more by teasing a large amount of story we need to see.
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Billy: The best action this series has ever seen and our kids that we love feel like budding adults for the first time. Here we have Voldemort officially back and the Wizarding World doubting the legitimacy of these potential tall tales. The group that knows the truth brings back the “Order of the Phoenix” that was created during the heights of Voldemort’s reign and our kids try to bring that to Hogwarts. This is met with a wonderful villain performance in Dolores Umbridge by Imelda Staunton.
7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Drew: In a pleasant surprise, the spinoff franchise starter Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them turned out to be a charming, scaled-down peek into a different part of the Wizarding World. Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is an unconventional hero for a planned five-film series, but his offbeat energy mostly works here, in tandem with Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Muggle Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler). Colin Farrell is very compelling as the mysterious Graves, until a sudden and unfortunate (for the franchise) twist at the end.
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Drew: While the series would become darker and more grown up after Chamber of Secrets, I have a soft spot for this entry, which feels just as fresh and magical as the first film. In addition to being Richard Harris’ final turn as Dumbledore (#BestDumbledore), we get Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart in a fun and lively performance. Harry is learning some disturbing things about his own potential dark side just as we explore some of Hogwarts’ mysterious depths. Harry, Ron, and Hermione started to move into adolescence after this movie, so it’s wonderful to go back and see them in this stage.
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Billy: The best expansion in the world came from this movie. Before Goblet of Fire I do not remember much revealing of how the Wizarding World is around the globe. Here we go straight into the Quidditch World Cup where we see tent cities, beautiful magic, and other countries participating. Our characters and myself are equally in awe of what we are seeing. Sadly, what follows is inconsistent tones that are trying to match the darkness set up in Azkaban with middle school angst.
10. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Drew: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the only movie in this universe that doesn’t really work at all. As good as some of the casting is – Jude Law as young Dumbledore and Zoe Kravitz as Leta Lestrange – there’s entirely too much Johnny Depp. His villain performance as Grindelwald simply isn’t some of his best work. And the movie is much too dull for a magic-filled world with actors this talented.
Billy’s ranking
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Drew’s ranking
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Links
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