Movies: Rank the Harry Potter movies

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Been watching them recently and thought it would be fun to get everyones opinions. Feel free to rank the books, too, if you want.

Deathly Hallows Part 2
Prisoner of Azkaban
Half Blood Prince
Chamber of Secrets
Philosopher's Stone
Order of the Phoenix
Deathly Hallows Part 1
Goblet of Fire

Click to read more...

 

[x Tame Impala]

Philosopher’s Stone? Excuse me, this is America. It’s Sorcerer’s Stone

 

[x Tame Impala]

Movies:

Deathly Hallows Pt 1
Order of Phoenix
Azkaban
Half Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows Pt 2
Goblet of Fire
SORCERER’s Stone
Chamber of Secrets


Books:

Order of the Phoenix
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Half Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows
SORCERER’s Stone
Chamber of Secrets

 

[alko]

Its slowly transforming from Kids movie to semi-horror movie.

 

[Speyer]

Chamber of Secrets
Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone

Deathly Hollows Part One
Deathly Hollows Part Two
Prisoner of Askaban

Goblet of Fire
Half Blood Prince

Order of Phoenix

 

[NyQuil]

Prisoner of Azkaban
Chamber of Secrets
Deathly Hollows Part II
Philosopher’s Stone
Half-Blood Prince
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
Deathly Hollows Part I

None of them are really that bad, which is pretty impressive.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I don’t get the dislike for DH1. It was always the most serious and character-driven film to me and I enjoyed it the most. DH2 in contrast suffered a lot of the things major finales usually suffer.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Order of the Phoenix
DH 1
DH 2
Half Blood Prince
Sorcerer’s Stone
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Chamber of Secrets (probably the only one I didn’t like)

 

[NyQuil]

I don’t get the dislike for DH1. It was always the most serious and character-driven film to me and I enjoyed it the most. DH2 in contrast suffered a lot of the things major finales usually suffer.

I just found that it dragged and the protagonists under the influence of the amulet (whiny Harry, whiny Ron) out in the wilderness weren't exactly a hoot to watch.

Personally, I always felt that the wonder and whimsy of Hogwarts was the real star of the series and by the end, while necessary, a lot of that is sacrificed.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

Movies:
Deathly Hallows 1
Order of the Phoenix
Half-Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows 2
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Philosophers Stone
Chamber of Secrets

Books:
Half-Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
Prisoner of Azkaban
Chamber of Secrets
Philosophers Stone

 

[bleedblue1223]

I always find these rankings interesting because they vary so much. There is no definitive best movie or worst movie. JK did a good job of maturing the series with the characters. It makes sense that early on it's very much a kid book/film and at the end, it's much darker and mature. The only real knocks I have on the films were that in the 4-6 movies, content from the books were included for time purposes, and that hurt the pacing.

I'd want to watch them all to give a good ranking, but honestly, I enjoyed them all for different reasons. I view 1-3 as a trilogy, 4 as it's own, and then 5-7 as it's own trilogy. I'd probably give all the movies at least a 7/10.

DH2
DH1
Sorcerer's Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban
Half-Blood Prince
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix

 

[Mimsy]

Philosopher’s Stone? Excuse me, this is America. It’s Sorcerer’s Stone

Hard no.

 

[Mimsy]

Rankings vary for me.

"Philosopher's Stone" did a fantastic job of world-building and was most faithful to the novel. "Chamber of Secrets" is more of the same, but I found Branagh's Lockhart annoying, and the film's most memorable scenes largely forgettable. The directorial style of "Azkaban" took everything up a notch and is my favorite of the first three.

I was disappointed with "Order of the Phoenix" on first viewing and am still a bit soured on it. I appreciate its darker and maturing tone. I wasn't keen on David Yates directing, but warmed up to him over time. Still, the longest novel gets the shortest film. I didn't like the intense focus on Dolores Umbridge, but acknowledge the film needed a focal point, having left so much source material on the cutting-room floor. I remember reading that Yates had up to 45 minutes of footage cut from the film at Warner Bros' insistence.

I was wowed by "Goblet of Fire" on first viewing. Long my favorite Potter film, I was surprised to see it ranked at or near the bottom of many fan lists. Over time, I've come around to a similar position. I still like the movie better than others in the series. It boasts some of my favorite scenes, but maybe has more flash than substance. Something about "Half Blood Prince" also felt incomplete to me. I'd have to rewatch to remember. Its color grading suffers from too much tinkering. CGI world-building aside, the natural colors are washed out in favor of artificial browns, greys, whites, and silvers. It looks gimmicky and dated in retrospect.

Current film rankings (always subject to change):

1. Deathly Hallows Part I
2. Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Deathly Hallows Part II
4. Half-Blood Prince
5. Order of the Phoenix
6. Goblet of Fire
7. Philosopher's Stone
8. Chamber of Secrets


It's been awhile since I read the novels. Based on memory:

1. Deathly Hallows
2. Goblet of Fire
3. Half-Blood Prince
4. Order of the Phoenix (hazy on definitively ranking my #2, 3, and 4)
5. Prisoner of Azkaban
6. Chamber of Secrets
7. Philosopher's Stone


Edited film ranking after mistakenly placing DH 2 above 1

 

[Azathoth]

I think would rank 1)Azkaban 2) Sorcerer's stone 3) Chamber and then all the rest. I'm being overly picky, but Micheal Gambon's interpretation of Dumbldore was so f***ing awful it took me out of the movies (I know he was in Azkaban too but I still liked that one the best).

 

[Make]

The only one I kind of struggle to get through on rewatches is Goblet of Fire. I remember it being rushed and kind of forgettable. The others I can pretty much remember scene by scene when watching but Goblet just flows through with few memorable moments.

The first two are clearly kids' movies but I still value them in a nostalgic way. It's difficult to rank them with the others because the tone of the series changed significantly between 2 & 3. New director, kids more grown up, new Dumbledore, different Hogwarts etc.

I'd say 5-8 are all exciting. Azkaban has its moments as a "mini reboot" of the franchise but last time I watched it felt like the time travelling at the end is kind of a bore.

I don't like Gambon's Dumbledore either. Too angry and aggressive at times, which the book Dumbledore never was.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Dumbledore in the book got that tone though from what I remember. You could tell he had that internal struggle with everything that he was doing and with the war, after we finished the series and looked back on his actions and motivations.

 

[Osprey]

It's been so long since last seeing them all that I just can't rank them 1-8, but the first two will always be my favorites. I love the childlike wonder that they possess and they're the only two really "fun" movies in the series.

I really hated how the 3rd one ('Azkaban') was so dark and felt nothing like the book, which is my favorite in the series... though I suppose that that hate has cooled a little since the rest of the movies were even darker. Also, the new Dumbledore just felt off. My feelings on the 4th ('Goblet') are pretty similar, since that might by my 2nd favorite of the books. It was a little darker than I wanted and I absolutely hated how Dumbledore was portrayed in it.

The rest of the films are all very similar to me in tone and subject matter. They run together for me and I'm not a fan of any of them.

In other words, they fall into three tiers for me (but not necessarily in order in those tiers):

Tier 1
The Sorcerer's Stone
The Chamber of Secrets

Tier 2
The Prisoner of Azkaban
The Goblet of Fire

Tier 3
The Order of the Phoenix
The Half-Blood Prince
The Deathly Hallows Part 1
The Deathly Hallows Part 2

 

[JayC71]

I’ve never read a Potter book. I’ve seen all the films. I think fans of the books are more critical because they notice anything left in or removed. With that being said here is my list, based solely on entertainment quality, from worst to first:

8. Sorcerer’s stone- 1/10 ( the only movie my daughter ever wanted us to walk out on. It’s awful)
7. Chamber of Secrets-2/10 ( slight improvement over first film, still bad)
6. Deathly Hallows Pt. 1- 3/10 (pointless, made for more money. Nothing more. Bad)
5. Half Blood Prince-4.5/10 ( watchable, not great. Slightly better than the worst 3)
4. Order of the Phoenix-5/10 ( again, watchable. I gave up on Potter after Prisoner. There is a reason I came back)
3. Prisoner of Azkaban-6/10 ( by far the best of the first three but not a great movie. Tedious & boring like most Potter installments trying to satisfy book fans. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Fan service is important but to the movie goer who isn’t aware of the book’s detail, it all seems bloated. Gary Oldman and David Thewlis made this film better than it actually was)
2. Deathly Hallows Pt. 2.-7/10 ( a good finale. Not an amazing movie but it closed out the franchise far better than many. The story came full circle. I watched these little guys grow up alongside my 2 oldest children. That little piece of nostalgia will always hold a special place for me.)
1. Goblet of Fire-8/10 ( had I not became bored & purchased this on ppv back in 06 I would’ve been done w/Potter after Prisoner. Prisoner was by far better than the first two but still, not amazing. It was the first movie to get past a 2 on a 1-10 scale in my opinion. Goblet has everything the other films were not. Action, mystery, drama, passion, competition, all plugged in to one film. It’s a stand alone movie. You don’t need to see the prior three films to enjoy it or understand it. That’s why, in my opinion, it’s the best movie. )

I’ve never seen a book fan place Goblet higher than three, I’ve never seen someone who didn’t read the books place it lower. For the readers, Prisoner, Hallows 2 and Chambers are most often top 3. Occasionally, HBP or Sorcerer creeps in. Rarely is it different. I’ve never seen someone from the film only crowd place sorcerer, chamber or hallows pt1 higher than maybe 4. I think that’s why Potter ranking lists are the most diverse. The film only viewer goes in with an open mind and all the development they know is what they see. The reader goes in knowing what will happen then makes their preference based on how well their characters are portrayed & how precise the film mimics the source material. Entertainment value isn’t as important to them as their imagination coming to life. I get that. As a comic fan I have the same passion for remaining true to the source.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Movies
8. Chamber of Secrets
7. Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
6-3 in no order: Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, Sorcerer's Stone, Half Blood Prince, Goblet of Fire
2. Order of the Phoenix
1. Prisoner of Azkaban

The only one I dislike is Chamber of Secrets. DH Pt. 1 is neutral and forgettable.

 

[Siamese Dream]

I find it very hard to rank the movies indivudually, preferring to place them into tiers, for me it goes as follows:

Tier 1:

Prisoner of Azkaban - The kids have actually learned how to act in this one, and the music in 1-3 is great, and we're still at the point where it closely follows the books. Plenty of stuff going on with major plot twists.

Tier 2:

Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Probably the most action-packed movie and being the series finale is always helpful.

Tier 3:

The Philosopher's Stone + Chamber of Secrets - The music in these first two movies is great and they have the most of that magical feel, they're the shortest book so it's easy to stay true to the source material and explain everything. However the children's acting is dreadful, but at least we get original Dumbledore.

The Half Blood Prince - There's some really good stuff in this one like the exploration of Voldemort's past (even though a lot of it gets cut) and the entire cave sequence then Snape killing Dumbledore being one of the most significant moments of the story. However, this is also "the rom-com movie" with all the teen drama.

Tier 4:

The Goblet of Fire + Order of the Phoenix - These are the two longest books so had the most stuff cut out. We don't even get to see any of the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet.

Tier 5:

Deathly Hallows Part 1 - "The camping movie" nothing else needs to be said.

Bonus round - The books ranked:

1: Half-Blood Prince
2: Prisoner of Azkaban
3: Deathly Hallows
4: Order of the Phoenix
5: Goblet of Fire
6: Philosopher's Stone
7: Chamber of Secrets

 

[Mickey Marner]

Prisoner of Azkaban was the only good movie.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Did a rewatch of the first 3 movies recently. They’re all kinda lame. The only reason I liked any of them really was because I loved the books and it was cool seeing the stories come to life.

Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 and The Half Blood Prince were the only two that had any sort of entertainment value past superficial appeal due to reading the books IMHO

 

[ItsFineImFine]

I think it might be because I read the books but they all blend into one for me. The first two are probably the weakest, fairly childish with poor hammy acting much of the time but I really can't rank the rest all that well. I don't think they were ever very well made really outside of the sets.