It’s a controversial conversation you’ve likely had more than once – but this time it might not be the order you expect. It’s to once again rank the Harry Potter movies. Whether you are a big lover of the Fantastic Beasts movies, or prefer the earliest films of the series, it’s up for discussion. Each film is quite different from the other but all give you that magical escapism that is needed at times. Especially in the run-up to Christmas.
Here are all of the Harry Potter films as ranked by Parade. And while many Potter fans believe that Prisoner of Azkaban is the best due to its clever transition between the more children friendly vibe of the first two films and the darker world of Lord Voldemort later on, it’s another film that’s come out on top in this ranking – and it completely bucks a trend we’ve seen over the years of latter films in series flopping at the Box Office.
11. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
The third Fantastic Beasts movie promised a thrilling war in the Wizarding World, but it didn’t deliver. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore mostly consists of scenes where characters walk in and out of rooms and explain the plot to each other, it’s uninteresting and dour.
10. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
It’s very hard not to get sucked into Rowling’s original Potter series but Fantastic Beasts, despite taking place in the same magical universe, does not have the same charm as the original characters. The film needed deeper material to work with. It is however the only Wizarding World entry so far to win an Academy Award – for veteran designer Colleen Atwood’s beautiful costumes.
9. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
The follow-up to Fantastic Beasts is arguably a more engaging, largely because there’s less focus on cute critters and more on the witches and wizards mythology we’ve grown so fond of. However, it still fails to take off two movies in. The story is disappointing and none of the subplots leave a lasting impression. A common theme with the Fantastic Beasts series is that the plot is often overexplained.
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
If this is the peak of the Harry Potter series, it speaks volumes about the high standard of the entirity of it. Interestingly, Order of the Phoenix is the longest of all the books, yet the shortest film, leaving quite some room for disparity. It can feel rushed and the pacing is also off. The movie is still very fun and entertaining but could have been even better.
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
I bet most people would place this one further up. However, falling right in the middle of the dense saga Goblet doesn’t stand as well on its own. Mostly however, it is just a great movie, following the Triwizard Tournament – and also does well to navigate teenage hormones as the iconic trio begin to show signs of growing up. It was the first Potter film to carry a PG-13 rating, due to a blood-soaked finale and the shocking murder of a student.
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
A lot of people do consider the first two Potter films to be the weakest for being slavishly faithful to the books and too kid-friendly, but others enjoy their sentimentality. Director Chris Columbus’ inaugural pair did what they needed to: pleased the broadest possible audience while laying the groundwork for a series that would become increasingly dark, frightening and complex.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (a.k.a. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 2001)
Our introduction to Harry (Daniel Radcliff), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) still casts a spell of classically influenced, movie enchantment more than two decades later. Some of the CGI effects looked fairly question even in 2001 and many of them have not held up. However, the Quidditch match is still a marvel to behold.
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
Rowling’s final novel was split into two halves on the big screen. Like its immediate predecessor The Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows Part 1 has much of the DNA of classic horror; it’s filled with atmosphere, shadows and death. Once we get into the business of the Horcruxes, the themes Rowling explores here are disturbing by any metric, but ultimately gripping.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
The most purely haunting of the Potter films, Half-Blood Prince juggles light and dark with remarkable grace. This is probably the funniest film of the bunch. It feels like the calm before the storm and is largely centred around teenage love and coming of age, similar to Goblet of Fire. It is often somber and intense, too though and carries a PG rating. This is the probably the most underrated of the Potter series.
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Alfonso Cuarón’s addition is the most stylish of the series. Azkaban is a turning point; the previous two worked well as self-contained adventures, and this is when Harry steps into a larger, morally murky world. The picture cuts out much of the book. The director’s camera is almost constantly moving, which creates a a sense of moving forward and risk. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience. Cuarón’s vision of Rowling’s fantastical world is the most visually ingenious and the most dynamic.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
As for the top two Potter films, while Azkaban is the most inventive and artistically ambitious of the series, Deathly Hallows 2 is the mightiest. So many film series and trilogies have, to varying degrees, stumbled in the final outing, but the Harry Potter series ended with a streamlined crash of thunder. The filmmakers saw the potential here and made the right decisions across the board to realize it; it’s hard to imagine this turning out any better than it did.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk