Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Harry Potter Films: Ranked From Least to Most Favorite

 Hello readers! In this ranking list I'm going to rank all of the Harry Potter films in accordance to my ratings and which I like best. I'm a huge Potterhead and love them all, but I will admit that some are better than others. Well, we all gotta start somewhere, so I guess I'll start here:

8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:
Like I said, we all gotta start somewhere. This was a great and magical introduction to the beloved family fantasy franchise, but the inexperienced performers (at the time) were a little annoying and way to unconvincing for me to truly get immersed. Also, the tone feels too light at the time for a film like this. It's a great start, but it isn't the strongest. It's good to look back on through the rest of the series though, like a memory. 

7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: 
This one had some brilliant performances and a big emotional impact, not to mention plot execution that could swallow you whole. However, this one actually lacked the joy that its predecessor's had at this point. This one felt like the most depressing and bleak out of the series. I just was left with a feeling like more could have been done. 

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1:
This one, being in the latter additions to the franchise, was one of the most powerful emotionally and carrying excellent performances. However, it felt too much like a prequel and a character study. This one lacked some great action as compared to its predecessors and focused more on the characters. This is great and all, but it makes the middle lag a bit and move slow. It feels like a glorious filler at times even. This film isn't bad by far, but it's slower than the rest in more ways than one. 

5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: 
Though this Harry Potter film is also home to more inexperienced acting, I appreciate it because you see a great change in the tone and performances as compared to the first one, not to mention the story is much more complex than the first was. The tone starts to get just the right amount darker in this one and the actors show a great deal of improvement over this brief amount of time. This one also seems to bring back the most memories from my childhood out of the Potter films, so I'm pretty partial to it. 

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
This Harry Potter film is one of the best in my opinion because of the characters' convincing portrayal of real emotions and the fine, fine direction of the great David Yates. This one was a really great addition and a great preparation for the two-part conclusion as well. The only thing I thought negative about this would have to be that it felt a little bland as compared to its predecessors. The story just wasn't as complex and in-depth as the others were. The twists weren't authentically present until the very end. However, this was still a great HP film overall. 

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
This addition was the first the developed a plot and story so complex that I literally couldn't peel my eyes off the screen for a minute. The complexity of the story and its twists was so amazing to me, especially with the time travel aspect added in, that I was just enjoying myself fully. The only thing keeping this from being a step higher would be that the performances, though really great, still showed a signal of immaturity. The kids were still kids here. 

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
This one comes in second place for me because it, like its direct predecessor, has an extremely complex story that kept me glued to the screen. However, the performances are more mature and the story takes its turning point with announcing Voldemort's powerful return as a living being. This is definitely where it all changes, and its where the border of children's movie and actual film is shattered. I really loved this one. 

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2:
I'm part of the bandwagon on having this one as my favorite, but for a good reason. This story is just as complex as numbers 2 and 3 on this list, but the emotional impact and raging action are amped up even more than these two and is just a brilliant film overall with every twist, hidden backstory, or excellently-directed scene by the great Yates involved. 

 So there you go. These are the Harry Potter films ranked in accordance to my favor of them. I love the Harry Potter franchise with all my heart, and I'm sure you're tired of hearing about them from me. So without further ado, farewell to the Harry Potter reviews. 

1 comment:

  1. Good list, there are some points were I disagree completely with you and others were I agree less:

    8. Sorcerer`s Stone
    7. Goblet Of Fire
    6. Chamber Of Secrets
    5. Deathly Hallows Part 1
    4. Prisoners Of Azkaban
    3. Half-Blood Prince
    2. Order Of The Pheonix
    1. Deathly Hallows Part 2

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