One day in 1990, British author Joanne ‘J.K.’
Rowling came up with the idea for a young boy wizard named Harry Potter while
on a train back to London. What followed after that is something that can only
be described as ‘magical’ (no pun intended). In 1997, Rowling published the
first in the Harry Potter series, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’
(renamed ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ for the U.S. market), and it became a worldwide
phenomenon, resulting in six more books over the next decade. Four years after
the first book was released, Warner Bros released the first of eight films
based off of the books and just like their source material, the films were huge
hits. Right now, the Harry Potter film franchise stands as the highest grossing
film franchise of all time, having grossed over 7.7 billion dollars worldwide,
beating franchises like James Bond and Star Wars. Two years ago on this day, on
July 15th, 2011, the final film in the Harry Potter series, ‘Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ was released, effectively ending a film
series that had been running for a decade. Today, I’m here to honor my personal
favorite film franchise of all time. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a
while, especially considering that I started this blog back in May 2012; a
little less than a year after the series came to a close. Let’s not waste any
time and get started…
HARRY
POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE (2001)
Straight off the bat, the best thing about the first
film in the series is that it does a fantastic job at establishing the magical
world our protagonists live in, something that is definitely essential for any
major fantasy film series. But while the film is very entertaining, well-acted
(every actor/actress is perfectly cast), and the film’s visual effects still
hold up even after a whole decade, I can’t say this film is as good as the
films that followed. That’s mainly because the film is a bit too family
friendly (you can sort of attribute that to director Chris Columbus, who had
previously directed films like ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’). Sure, there
are some darker moments but for the most part, the film is generally light
hearted. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, however. It just shows that this
series got better and better as time went on. All in all, the first Harry
Potter film is a terrific family film, effectively setting up this franchise
and while, in the end, it’s not the best in the series, it just got better from
here.
Rating:
4/5
HARRY
POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (2002)
In their ‘Honest Trailer’ for the entire ‘Harry
Potter’ series, Screen Junkies referred to this film as ‘the one everyone
hates’. I have to admit, before I started re-watching all of the films, this
was probably my least favorite of the series (which is ironic considering that,
when I was a kid, this was the one I watched more than the first one). But,
looking at it now, I do like ‘Chamber of Secrets’ more than ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’.
The story is much darker than its predecessor, and even though the
‘family-friendly’ tone is still generally there like in the last film, Columbus
does a better job at maintaining a darker atmosphere. Probably the only problem
I have with the film is that it is a bit too long, which is interesting
considering this is one of the shortest books in the whole series and yet it’s
the longest film. Because of this, the film does drag at certain points.
However, looking at it now, I don’t think they could have removed anything from
the final cut. So, even though it’s not really my personal favorite in the
series, I have to say that I think this film is better than its predecessor.
Rating:
4/5
HARRY
POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004)
A few changes were made once the third film of the
series went into production. Chris Columbus stepped down as director, and taking
over for this film was Alfonso Cuaron (director of 2006’s ‘Children of Men’ and
the upcoming thriller ‘Gravity’). Because Richard Harris (the original Albus
Dumbledore) had died after the second film was completed, he was replaced by
Michael Gambon. These changes were for the better, as this is easily one of the
best entries in the series. Cuaron succeeds at taking this series into darker
territory in terms of story and character development. From a visual
standpoint, the film is one of the best-looking in the entire series even
amidst a generally bleak color palette.
The new additions to the cast are fantastic (as they
are, technically, in every film), including Gambon (who is probably the best
Dumbledore because, with no disrespect to Richard Harris (who was also great in
the part), he was getting up there in age) and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, the
mysterious ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ who is revealed to have a deep personal
connection to Harry. Though we are told that Black is a murderer who also
betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort, in reality he did not and he is also
Harry’s godfather. The scenes between Oldman and Daniel Radcliffe are probably
the best scenes in the movie and you can see the connection that they have, as
Sirius sort of becomes the father that Harry never had. With all of this in
place, ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ is one exceptional entry in the series and the
first one to officially establish the identity of the Harry Potter series.
Rating:
5/5!
HARRY
POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (2005)
‘Goblet of Fire’ is my personal favorite entry in
the series for a few reasons; the main reason being that it is never boring.
This film has some very good action sequences, namely the three ‘tasks’ that
Harry is forced to face when he is unexpectedly chosen as a Triwizard Champion
for the event known as the Triwizard Tournament. I especially like the final
task, where the champions have to go through a maze in order to find the
Triwizard Cup. It’s a bit different from the book (the maze is quite larger and
instead of magical creatures that appear in the maze, the maze actually keeps
changing while the champions are still in it), but it actually does work better
in terms of the film. It all ends with a terrific climax, as Lord Voldemort is
‘reborn’ (the film marking the series debut of Ralph Fiennes in the role). That
is why ‘Goblet of Fire’, while not the best in the series, is my favorite film
in the entire franchise.
Rating:
5/5!
HARRY
POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2007)
Despite the fact that Order of the Phoenix is one of
the longest books in the series, it’s actually one of the shortest. Also, this
is the only entry in the series that was not written by its main screenwriter,
Steve Kloves. However, I’d argue that this is the best written Harry Potter
film in the entire series. The writers do a fantastic job at establishing how
Harry pretty much becomes an outcast in this film because the wizarding world
does not want to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned. Even the Ministry of
Magic, who are supposed to be ‘the good guys’ feel like the enemy in this film,
especially when a Ministry official, Professor Umbridge, becomes the Defense Against
the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts and begins to take over the school.
Because of this, Harry has to become the leader of a
secret organization known as ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ to take on Voldemort when
Umbridge refuses to teach them anything. Imelda Staunton does a fantastic job
in the role of Umbridge (admit it, you wanted her dead more than Voldemort)
along with Helena Botham Carter, making her series debut as Bellatrix Lestrange.
Finally, this film has one of the best final fights in the entire series;
there’s great tension and suspense, especially with the death of Sirius
because, like with the third film, the scenes between him and Harry are
excellent. I’d say this is the best entry in the entire Harry Potter film
series and a great debut for director David Yates (who would later go on to
direct the remaining three films in the series).
Rating:
5/5!
HARRY
POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009)
I will admit that, when I first saw this film, I
wasn’t really that big on it. Admittedly, it was for a rather unfair reason
because at the time, I though there wasn’t much action in the film. But really,
that’s the point because the book is not an action-packed story. In fact, the
filmmakers decided to cut the final battle in the book because it would be way
too similar to the final battle in the last film. So why is this film still
great? That is because it does a fantastic job at doing something else; drama.
Rowling’s writing shines in this film particularly well as each of the main
characters start to go through changes and develop ‘romantic’ feelings for each
other. This is also probably the funniest entry in the series (my friend Matt
referred to this one as ‘Harry Potter and the Breakfast Club’) with some
well-placed humor, which is good considering that, like with the last film, it
continues to get grim from here on out. So, while I originally wasn’t a big fan
of this film, recent viewings have changed my mind and this is another great
entry in the series.
Rating:
4.5/5
HARRY
POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (2010)
So we have come to the final book in the series… but
not the last film. Yes, the filmmakers decided to do something very bold by
splitting the final book into two films in order to keep as much as possible,
which would have been impossible if it was just one movie (apparently, the
first cut of both films combined was about 5 ½ hours). At first, I really
wasn’t big on the idea because I didn’t think it was possible but like everyone
else, I was proven wrong. That is because ‘Deathly Hallows’ is a book that is
big enough to be two films (unlike another series (*cough* Twilight *cough*)).
Also, both films are different in their own way, although together they
definitely like one single film.
Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a road movie, and that is
why I really like this one. It does something different instead of just being
another ‘going to school, and then taking on evil’ film like the last six films
were. Also, because this film is mainly focused on the three leads, Daniel
Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson all shine in this film. Finally, this
film ends on the right note to set up the events for Part 2. Screen Junkies
referred to this one as ‘the one you can skip’, but even though this film is
admittedly a little slow, I never found it boring. It gets things off on the right foot for the
finale to the Harry Potter series.
Rating:
5/5!
HARRY
POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)
Speaking of the finale, now we have officially come
to the final film in the Harry Potter series… and boy what an ending it was.
The final ‘Harry Potter’ film does not disappoint. The final battle of Hogwarts
is easily one of the best final battles in the history of cinema, with great
tension and suspense throughout the entire film. Everything so far had been
leading up to this one moment, and it all comes together perfectly. However,
there’s one little problem with this film. For those of you who haven’t seen
the two Deathly Hallows movies or read the book, a lot of characters die in
this movie and their deaths are just really glanced over. This is one of the
shorter films in the series so they could have added scenes where these deaths
got more attention. However, one death certainly got a good look at and that is
Severus Snape because after he is killed by Voldemort, Harry learns the truth
that Snape has been hiding all of these years; that he was in love with Harry’s
mom and still was all the way to his death. This is easily the best moment in
the entire Harry Potter series and this is the guaranteed tear-jerker moment in
this film. The way the film ends is also done very well. That final shot of
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny watching their kids go off to Hogwarts 19 years
after the events of the film with John Williams’ music (‘Leaving Hogwarts’, a
track from the first film’s score)… there’s nothing better. This is a fitting
conclusion to one of the greatest film franchises of all time.
Rating:
5/5!
Now, the tough part… is ranking them all… especially
considering that I’ve given five of the films perfect 5 out of 5 ratings.
However, I believe I was able to figure this list out…
8.
Sorcerer’s Stone
7.
Chamber of Secrets
6.
Half-Blood Prince
5.
Prisoner of Azkaban
4.
Deathly Hallows Part 1
3.
Goblet of Fire
2.
Deathly Hallows Part 2
1.
Order of the Phoenix
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