Celebrating the Harry Potter Films: Day One

Last weekend, we saw the conclusion of the HARRY POTTER series in cinemas. To celebrate over a decade of marvelous filmmaking and an emotional journey spanning eight films, I'm going to spend the next few days basking in the awesomeness that is the world brought to us by three talented young actors, one determined producer, four imaginative directors, and two clever screenwriters.

Today, I rank all eight HARRY POTTER movies based solely on my tastes. I recognize not a lot of folks will have a similar list, but that's the groovy thing about the internet, no? The most important thing to remember is that HARRY POTTER means a lot of things to a lot of people. I've grown up with the Boy Who Lived, I've stayed up for midnight releases of the books and movies, and I love this series and universe with all my heart. J.K. Rowling has created something monumentally spectacular and important, that much is for sure. And the men and women who saw that vision and translated it for millions more to experience in an all new medium should be given just as much kudos, so this is my attempt.

I love HARRY POTTER. I love the books, I love the movies, and this is my Swan Song to the series and, most importantly, the experience years in the making.

Ranking the Harry Potter Film Series

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Directed by David Yates
Script by Michael Goldenberg

About perfect, I’d say. Through screenings at work, Potter rewatches at home, and regular discussion on the film with my friends, Order of the Phoenix is the one I realized I have the most love for. Originally I think I would have said Prisoner of Azkaban, but aside from praising the visual aesthetic, I can’t really get behind the whole Time Turning material. With OOTP, it has everything I want and desire from a movie: a director who delivers interesting visuals (e.g., the Ministry of Magic duel), a script that brilliantly finds the balance of telling the story, wisely picking and choosing elements of the novel and adapting it for the big screen (which I think is done exceptionally well by Goldenberg, crafting an entirely cohesive story from a book made of subplots), great performances (some of Radcliffe’s absolute best), brisk editing (from start to finish, Phoenix seems to fly by at a lightspeed pace), rousing score (Hooper at his best), and most of all, is entertaining (which it completely is). Everything that Order of the Phoenix is, I love.

I love the glimpses of a darker, angrier Harry. I love his frustration at being ignored by the man he trusted the most, his confusion of these odd visions and fear of influenced by Voldemort, and his agony of losing his only surviving family member. [More on this in the upcoming days] This was the perfect blend of the light, magical world of the first three films and the impending darkness that envelops the wizarding world in the following installments. For the first time, Michael Gambon shows he could be a good Dumbeldore, and Imelda Staunton is Umbridge personified. There is no shortage of memorable performances from Phoenix, and Goldenberg’s clever script that delivers Rolwing’s story and all the right emotional punches is beautifully conveyed by the highly imaginative David Yates. Honestly, I feel like everything is just right with this movie, and no matter how many times I rewatch it, my affection for it continues to grow. 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Directed by David Yates
Script by Steve Kloves

Another surprise, frankly. Similar to Order of the Phoenix, I think Deathly Hallows, Part 1 is damn near perfect. Sure, the pacing may be a bit off, but I can forgive it for the magnitude of information and events that need be covered before Part 2’s action-heavy conclusion. From a writing standpoint, I think this is Steve Kloves at his best. Just like Goldenberg, Kloves found the perfect balance of character and story, and his ability to pick and choose from the book has never been clearer and agreeable. Again, this is all from my standpoint, and I recognize plenty that aren’t a fan of Deathly Hallows, Part 1. But it just clicks for me. I love the overbearing sense of ‘this is the end, Harry must succeed or die trying’; I love, love, love every scene with Harry, Ron and Hermione on the run (especially Ron’s dramatic and anger-fueled departure which is well handled); I love Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint easily giving their best work (I’m including Part 2 into this equation due to their being filmed simultaneously); I love how the Horcrux affects the group dynamic; I loved how Kloves was able to take this whopping detail heavy book and translate it to a four-and-a-half-hour film and make it seem effortless. There’s loads to love here, and next to Order of the Phoenix, I think this is the most successful adaptation of Rowling’s work and boasts the strongest performances. In regards to the feeling some fellow bloggers commented as being “incomplete”, I surprisingly find Deathly Hallows, Part 1 to feel, although not “complete” in the strictest sense of the word, satisfying. As in, from beginning to end, the film felt like a self-contained entity that can stand on its own. Surprisingly enough, Half-Blood Prince doesn’t give me such a feeling, instead coming off as merely 20% of a much larger storyline. So in the end, I am immensely satisfied and quite in love with Part 1 of Harry’s journey, and absolutely deserves the number two spot. 3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Directed by David Yates
Script by Steve Kloves

I’m not going to get too deep into this film, since I still plan on writing one whopper of a review on it, but the basics are this: very, very, very successful. And very clever. A clever way to adapt the final chapter of Rowling’s final novel in the last two hours of Harry Potter on film, and one hell of a ride from beginning to end. Overall, I love the movie quite a lot. There are moments from the battle royale at Hogwarts that absolutely boggles my mind with how awesome it is, and there are times where I wish more emotion and/or drama could have been infused into a scene. But overall, one hell of a fitting finale for this series. I look at the Deathly Hallows two-parter as one whole film, and much that I wrote above is still true here: the cinematography is lovely, Alexandre Desplat delivers a fine score, and our main trio of actors gives some truly amazing performances. A strong movie in every facet of movie making: screenplay, cinematography, score, editing, performances, sound mixing, special effects, costume design. You name it, Deathly Hallows exemplifies it. Amazing work.

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Script by Steve Kloves

Judging Prisoner of Azkaban purely from a cinematic standpoint, Alfonso Cuaron delivers perhaps the most visually gorgeous film of the franchise. There is no single frame of the film that isn’t somehow miraculously gorgeous to look at. Looking at the script, I liked how the story was presented and the characters portrayed, and I loved the hints of darkness within Harry as he fumes with bloodlust to avenge his parents on this Sirius Black person. In a lot of ways, Prisoner of Azkaban sets the tone and style for the rest of the series, not just visually but also how the screenwriter(s) and actors approach the Harry Potter world. Regardless of its faithfulness to the original text, Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my top favorites because it is so damn fun and rewatchable and gorgeous to look at. Radcliffe amazes with his performance, Hermione is given the opportunity to punch Draco, there’s loads of gags and drama nicely balanced, and John Williams delivers his last and best score for the series. On the negative side, we also get Michael Gambon as Dumbeldore, an actor who is quite hit-or-miss with the character. But overall, a beautiful and fun film I often rewatch.

5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Directed by David Yates
Script by Steve Kloves

Half-Blood Prince and Goblet of Fire are the two adaptations I really want to love, but I can’t quite get there. With Half-Blood Prince, there’s this sense of a checklist of necessary plots and subplots that need to be addressed and are simply filmed without any sense of emotion or drama. The relationship of Harry and Ginny is excruciatingly awkward and wooden (and not in that awkward teen kind of way), and with Dumbeldore’s final film alive, this is when they choose to show that a friendship exists between Dumbeldore and Harry that has been noticeably vacant since the passing of Richard Harris. Ultimately, this results in an anticlimactic and lousy death scene for the character. There are certain bits I like, such as Harry’s growth as a person, Ron and Hermione’s bickering, the stuff inside the cave, the opening ten minutes, and Tom Felton’s grand performance. But with every positive, I feel there are some not nice things to say. With all that said, however, I still enjoy the movie – even though the washed out color palette makes the film a bit dreary to look at – but overall, Half-Blood Prince seems disassociated with the material its representing and doesn’t hold that punch it should. 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Directed by Mike Newell
Script by Steve Kloves

Bits I love, bits I don’t love. Overall, it’s a weird film to watch. I dig the whole Voldemort scene near the end, Brendan Gleeson is absolutely awesome as Mad-Eye Moody, and the youngster side of me can’t help but smile and enjoy all the teen romance part of the fourth film, but I become distracted by the logic of housing the Third Task in a giant maze that not a single person could see, or why their hair is absolutely bonkers, or why Dumbeldore doesn’t come across as being on friendly terms with Harry at all. In addition to Gleeson, Goblet of Fire also delivers onto us not only our first glimpse of Voldemort reincarnate, but Ralph Fiennes playing the villain to utter, skin-crawling perfection. Fiennes’ presence in the following films will continue to be a highlight, and he chews up the scenery here. The best way to sum up Goblet of Fire is that it definitely has its highs and lows, accomplishments and faults, but overall, a film that maintains the haunting and dangerous mood of the book and propels the franchise into the adult, difficult world Harry himself now faces.

7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Directed by Chris Columbus
Script by Steve Kloves

The perfect family book is adapted to the big screen by a successful family film director, making a great and magical film for the whole family to enjoy. Indeed, the movie is quite faithful to the original text, and even with his first foray into the role of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe’s skills as an actor are already apparent. It’s an enjoyable movie that nicely introduces us to Harry’s world, sets up the mythology of the universe and what’s to come in the series, and one can’t ask for much more than that. I was entertained, I enjoyed it. I don’t love it, but it’s still quite good.

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Directed by Chris Columbus
Script by Steve Kloves

That special sense of wonder, awe and excitement that is so hugely a part of Sorcerer’s Stone feels freakishly vacant in the sequel. With the exception of the spectacular Basilisk duel in the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry’s confrontation with a young Tom Riddle, I don’t find myself inclined to revisit the film. I feel that its lengthy, a bit halfheartedly crafted, and flat. Maybe Chris Columbus was simply too exhausted with post production work on Sorcerer’s Stone, but what worked well in the original doesn’t quite gel here – the awesomeness of a magical world, the moments of laughter nicely weighed with series mythology, the mystery aspect, and the general viewer-grabbing ability. I don’t hate Chamber of Secrets – in fact, I don’t hate any of them – but with my Potter rewatch a week ago, I find Chamber to be clearly the weakest. The best way to put it is that Chamber is a chore to watch, which really sucks to say. It’s a fine mystery with one hell of a kickass final battle (and a horribly cinematic cheesefest of a final scene that makes no sense whatsoever), but you won’t find me egging to watch Chamber of Secrets unless it’s Draco vs. Harry or Tom Riddle’s basilisk fetish.