The Harry Potter movies: Rank 'em!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth movie in the series, opens in theaters tonight, and I'm embarking on the proverbial marathon to watch the first five so everything will be fresh in my mind for #6.  I have to say, though, that the thought of sitting through the first one again (I've seen it a few times) is probably the least-appealing part of the journey.  So that brings up the natural question: Which movies were the best?  Unlike my colleague, Jordan, who will posting more on Potter soon, I don't live and breathe the books so I'm just ranking these on a sheer movie-entertainment scale.  How would you rank them?  (Beware of spoilers, obviously, and find all the movies and more in our Harry Potter store.) --David

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4): Sheer thrills in the Triwizard Tournament, and scarier than any previous film, particularly in the big climax. The kids growing up added an extra wrinkle.
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3): The first HP film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Azkaban got a great new villain in Sirius Black (played by Gary Oldman) and a dandy time-shifting device (confession: I'm a sucker for time-shift stories).
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (#5): A good watch, but a bit convoluted in plot, and to me it felt like a lot of set-up that was leading to a future installment.
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2): Chris Columbus' second effort, and I'm not going to hold the creepy spiders against it.  But it's overlong and my favorite character, Hermione, was out of action for much of it (which I know wasn't the movie's fault, but it still made me enjoy it less).
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1): I already tipped my hand on this one, but the first two films are the least successful because they follow the books too closely.  I appreciate the faithful detail, but movies and books are different media, and these just didn't keep moving.  But they were the first in the series, and anxious fans probably would have brought out the tars and feathers if the same liberties had been taken that the later movies have.  Now that the movies have become their own franchise, they've gotten much better, and I'm really looking forward to #6. 

Comments

[kira on July 14, 2009 at 02:06 PM]

Well, I have spent the last 5 days re-watching all these movies in preparation (post the last 2 months re-reading all the books). Excessive? Maybe. Awesome? Completely.

Here goes:

1. Prisoner of Azkaban (#3) - Introduction of Gary Oldman and Gary Thewlis (Lupin) and after watching again in order, Alfonso Cuaron's direction is just measurably better than Chris Columbus. Darker, but not too dark. This is the one I could watch over and over again.

2. Goblet of Fire
3. Order of the Phoenix
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Sorcerer's Stone

As far as Half Blood Prince goes - I'll be able to rate that one after midnight tonight!

[julie on July 14, 2009 at 10:43 PM]

I loved Half blood prince..its now my favorite. I like also Goblet of fire and order of phoenix.

[Jeff B. on July 15, 2009 at 07:44 AM]

I think you're just about right on with this ranking. Way better than the Star Trek ranking. Nemesis at #6!!!??? I'm still shaking my head about that one...

[Vadept on July 15, 2009 at 12:10 PM]

I always thought Chamber of Secrets was the weakest book AND the weakest movie.

[KR on July 15, 2009 at 12:18 PM]

3 is by far the best movie. 4 isn't bad but cuts out a lot of the story. 5 cuts out too much of the story and didn't seem to make sense on its own had I not read the book. from what I've heard, 6 is the same way unfortunately.

[ern on July 15, 2009 at 12:25 PM]

Here's the problem: only movies 1-3 make sense on their own. The movies of books four and five (and six, from what I hear) really make absolutely no sense unless you've read the books. I've accepted the reality of this and moved on. The movies were never going to be great. Except for Azkaban (the only honestly "good" one of the bunch), none of these is worth a second watch from one beginning to end. Certainly each had individual scenes which, when faithful to the spirit of the book, were fantastic. But only individual scenes. Harry fighting the basilisk, Harry facing Voldemort, there are individual moments that are perfect. But they've all been disappointing in one way or another.

[LaurieK on July 15, 2009 at 12:44 PM]

1. Azkaban - It was the best book, too.
2. Goblet - Very close second
3. Sorcerer's Stone - There is a sense of wonder to this one that I really love, for it's faults.
4. Chamber - Like the book, it's all a bit redundant.
5. Phoenix - Like the book, it's lacks a bit of focus.

Half-Blood Prince was, to me, the only book in the series that seemed a failure -- it just seemed rather slapdash and horribly structured. So the good reviews for the movie leave me hoping the movie is actually an improvement over the source material.

[Bret on July 15, 2009 at 12:47 PM]

3, 6, 1, 5, 2, 4, IMO, with 3 by far the best.

[random guy on July 15, 2009 at 12:51 PM]

I agree with your #1, but OOTP was HORRID. It was the worst interpretation of the book and I don't know why they brought this guy back to do HBP. The first two were excellent because they were nearly identical to the books. All in all the books pwn all the movies.

1. Goblet
2. Sorc
3. Chamber
4. Azkaban
5. Phoenix
5. Phoenix

[megscole64 on July 15, 2009 at 01:04 PM]

I guess I'm alone in my views. I prefer the first three movies, the first two being my favorite. As things got further away from the book in the movies I got less interested. I hated Order of the Phoenix. They left out too much important stuff.

I hope that the liberties they've taken in the 6th movie don't disappoint me too much. All the reviews are so good but I'm just afraid I'm being set up to be disappointed.

[NukemHill on July 15, 2009 at 01:34 PM]

Half-Blood Prince was awesome. It was a little over 2 1/2 hours, so the key points of the story were not given short-shrift. There were a few "re-arrangements", but all of the core issues were handled. There was one piece that was left out that I would have liked to have seen, but the setup for "Hallows" was still there.

I would say HBP is now #1, and Phoenix is #2 (maybe swapping with Goblet, depending on my mood). I got sick of the overbearing imagery in Azkaban. I mean, really. How many different ways do you need to show me a clock, or clock springs, or a watch, etc, etc, etc, before I get that gee, time is a major part of this story? Wow. Hadn't realized that!

I can't stand it when a director talks down to his audience. And yes, Gary Oldman rocks, so he does redeem the movie somewhat. The chemistry between him and Daniel Radcliffe really comes through in Phoenix, which is why I like that movie so much.

Stone and Chamber are fun kids movies, and I've watched them many times with my eldest son. I look forward to watching them soon with my six yo twin boys. We've been protective of what kinds of movies our boys can watch growing up, and our eldest was able to go, for the first time, to see an HP premiere with us last night. Quite a treat.

In response to "you have to have read the book to understand the movie"--I don't get that about Prince, but maybe I just know the stories so well that I can't separate the books from the movies. I'll watch Order again with that in mind. It could be true; I just haven't had that experience.

[Allie Charmed on July 15, 2009 at 01:48 PM]

1. Harry Potter and the order of the Phonix
2. Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azakban
3.Harry Potter and the soccress stone
4. Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets.

5.Harry Potter and the goblet of fire (Where Winky? she was very important in the book it such a terrible movie they took out many characters that were important to the story I am just saying if you didn't read the books you be confused

[Imserial on July 15, 2009 at 03:18 PM]

who cares? I just want to bang Hermione.

[Buffy Summers on July 15, 2009 at 04:53 PM]

Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely the best so far. I saw Half-Blood Prince last night and was very pleased, but do feel a bit unsatisfied with how much they left out. True Harry Potter fans will always love the books more, but appreciate the movies for what they are.

[Karen A. Wyle on July 15, 2009 at 05:55 PM]

1. HP III (Prisoner of Azkaban)
2. HP V (OOTP)
3. HP VI (H-B Prince) -- some great cinematography, good atmosphere, adequate rather than great acting -- though this is by far the best Michael Gambon has done -- and mostly rational decisions about what plot details to trim; some potentially good bits rushed through
4. HP II (Chamber of Secrets) -- would be higher if not for Rupert Grint's (Ron's) grievous overacting
5. HP I -- a nice guided tour of the book, more than a movie that stands on its own
6. HP IV (Goblet of Fire) -- lots of unnecessary stuff added, at the expense of crucial scenes omitted or over-compressed; Gambon's performance is slanderously un-Dumbledore

[Jamie on July 15, 2009 at 06:46 PM]

Went to the HBP showing at midnight: I was surprised and pleased at how well it handled the VERY convoluted plot. It gave me hope for the last two movies. My 12-year-old son, who hadn't read the book yet, was with me, and besides not understanding the romantic interplay (he's a pretty innocent 12-year-old!), he followed the story well. I had to explain a little to him, but more from the end of the series backwards; he was looking for Harry's and Voldemort's motivations throughout, and frankly I think it was his age and naivete rather than a failing of the movie that caused him not to understand things like, "Why did Harry use the Sectumsempra spell on Draco?"

[M. Report on July 15, 2009 at 08:00 PM]

The later the book, the older the characters,
the better I relate to them, the more I enjoy
the movie.
HBP subordinates magical special effects to plot
and acting; It is primarily about teenagers
having to grow up too fast, and doing so well.

[DebbieQ on July 16, 2009 at 03:48 AM]

I went to see HBP at midnight, a tradition that my daughters (who are now all over 18) and I have had. Enjoyed it a great deal and I am sure that I will see it again. But, it wasn't my favorite. I agree with Buffy that most serious Potter fans will always prefer the books (that would include me). On a personal level this is how I would rank them.
1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Goblet of Fire (really a toss up between this one and HBP)
4. Order of the Phoenix
5. Chamber of Secrets
6. Sorcerers Stone (which I definitely DON'T like)

[Reed on July 16, 2009 at 09:11 AM]

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Goblet of Fire
2. (tie) Half-Blood Prince (I can't decide yet, but I'm leaning GoF)
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Sorcerer's Stone
6. Order of the Phoenix. This is the shortest movie for the longest books, it omits way too much, which I would almost forgive it for had it not made Umbridge the focus of the movie, and the last scene (particularly fight with Voldy and DD) is such a letdown.

They're all great, for different reasons. The only reasons the first two movies are ever ranked so low is because the same progression happens with the novels. I don't buy this "Follows the books to closely" problem, because they still make changes, and they all stay pretty close.

[doower on July 18, 2009 at 07:20 AM]

harry potter is the best film for the years, because is very interested story

[jeux psp on September 22, 2009 at 02:50 AM]

I found this exciting and had a wow factor to alot. It was better than previous Potter films, obviously there is a lot uncovered but I think overall it was good. I am not too sure if I would want to watch this again and again but its certainly something I could stick on in the ba ( read more )

[joesen on November 11, 2010 at 10:49 PM]

I have to say, though, that the thought of sitting through the first one again (I've seen it a few times) is probably the least-appealing part of the journey. So that brings up the natural question