All 8 Harry Potter Films – Ranked

Besides maybe the Marvel Cinematic Universe towards the end of its initial timeline or the buildup to the final season of Game of Thrones, I can’t remember anything in my lifetime that equals the phenomenon that was Harry Potter. From the publishing of Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone in 1997 to no fanfare to the packed midnight releases of the final film adaptation in 2012, for 15 years The Boy Who Lived grew into a cornerstone of pop culture.

For today’s post, lets take a stroll down memory lane and look at the films: I will rank them worst to first, considering several different criteria: faithfulness to the source and liberties taken by the film, casting, music, atmosphere, and the most subjective, overall enjoyment.

For my money, the movies strength lies in the incredible world built on screen by art director Stuart Craig and the various directors, as well as the stellar casting for almost all of the characters. I do find them inferior to the books, as most film adaptations are, for the following reasons: the changing of directors led to a disjointed feel, the books hadn’t fully been published by the start of the film series, leading to the inclusion of some meaningless scenes and the exclusion of some important plot points, and the choice to not divide all of the movies Goblet of Fire onward into two parts.

Without further ado, Broncos County, Let’s Ride:

#8 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Directed by: Mike Newell

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: Patrick Doyle

Best moment: The duel with Voldemort and the returning of Cedric’s body to Hogwarts – “My boyyyyyyyy”; honorable mention to “Do the Hippogriff”, a song that really should have been a top 40 hit

Best quote: “Oh my God! I’ve killed Harry Potter!” – Neville Longbottom

Worst moment: The easy choice would be to go with Dumbledore’s meme moment shoving Harry while screaming if he put his name in the Goblet of Fire, but I will choose everything after the Cedric scene: barely explaining the Barty Crouch Jr. – Mad Eye Moody deal, not mentioning Priori Incantatem (the reason Harry and Voldemort’s wands do wild stuff when they duel and a major plot point) at all, and not explaining Crouch Jr. was given the dementor’s kiss.  

Pensieve Memories: I don’t want to be another dude on the internet just spouting off hot takes and hard-hitting criticism at something I myself could not do nearly as well, but I don’t know what else to do with this movie. I just can’t stand it. It is really bad. So many important things are missing, and the run time is padded by scenes like Maxime eating out of Hagrid’s beard that I think was intended to be funny but just falls flat.

I do think the film starts solidly: if you had to make one movie out of the long and complex novel, cutting the Dursley’s out made sense. The scenes leading up to the Quidditch World Cup are quite good: introducing Cedric and his dad, expanding the wizard universe at the campsite, a cool moment of awe when Harry steps inside the tent, and some character development for the Malfoy’s and other Weasley’s heading into the match.

The epic run-up to the Quidditch World Cup final was intense, and I was so ready for a CGI-masterpiece of a game to unfold. Then the film smash-cuts to the post game party in the tent. WTF? I started to get a sinking feeling at that moment and it didn’t go away the rest of the movie.

From there, we get some time wasted on over-the-top and stereotyped arrivals from the foreign schools. More time is wasted needlessly on the very long dragon chase at the first task, which could have been about 5 minutes shorter and still would have been as cool. The lead up and fall out from the Yule Ball I also thought could have been trimmed; while super important for character development and the coming-of-age moment for Hermione, some of the time spent debating and courting dates dragged for me too.

The final third of the movie is a total mess as well: the third task maze gets turned from an epic obstacle-filled minefield to just having attacking bushes. Let that sink in. The scene in the graveyard is a little weird; I feel like it was intended to be spookier than it was but Voldemort’s appearance looked distractingly fake to me and the tension never felt there with only like four Death Eaters present. The ending is a debacle, with so, so many missing moments beyond those already listed: Harry’s winnings, Fudge’s disbelief and Dumbledore spurring right into action to rally the Order, and Hermione figuring out Rita Skeeter, all moments that come up again somehow or someway in future installments.

I feel like some of the character writing missed the mark, especially concerning the Crouch’s: Barty Sr. becomes incredibly forgettable and has his amazing backstory written out, and Barty Jr. is so ridiculously over-the-top he comes off as a cartoon villain *flicks tongue evilly*.

This movie, more than any others, needed to be two films in my opinion. So many characters with important arcs get sidelined; Sirius, Draco, Dobby, Crouch Sr., Percy, Bertha Jorkins, Krum, and Karkaroff are all barely present or not at all.

I’ll end my thoughts on some things the movie did well: the first two Triwizard tasks and the Yule Ball were superbly shot, Hermione’s big moment stunting on the haters at the Yule Ball is perfect, Neville’s line “Oh my God, I’ve killed Harry Potter” is priceless, Brendan Gleeson nails it as Mad-Eye, and the prefects bathroom looks like a blast. Robert Pattinson does Robert Pattinson things, which is always a crowd pleaser.

#7 – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: Michael Goldenberg

Music by: Nicolas Hooper

Best moment: The duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore and then Voldemort possessing Harry. Chills.

Best quote: “Obviously” – Severus Snape to Dolores Umbridge; I bet you read that in Alan Rickman’s voice

Worst moment: The Snape and Marauders flashback during the Occlumency session; such a vital moment for so many characters and it becomes a quick, 5 second flash on the screen.

Pensieve Memories: For me, this is the most episodic movie in the series. It doesn’t real stand alone but it does its job and not much else as a Potter film. I am surprised it is somewhat polarizing: I can already hear my sister’s angry reaction reading this, as it is her favorite. I can see the appeal: it is a pretty flawless film; I had a hard time picking out a worst scene, for example, and it has a lot of iconic moments and a beautiful and tragic climax that really tears at your emotions. It just doesn’t do much for me; I think it’s miles better than Goblet of Fire, but this is just the bare bones version of a very complicated tale. The plot is trimmed to nothing except the essential moments with no room to breath.

One thing this film nails is the portrayal of Dolores Umbridge. While several of her funnier scenes from the book (“Career Advice”) get left on the cutting room floor, Imelda Staunton just crushes the role: you really do feel burning rage watching her reign of terror at Hogwarts. Her sickly-sweet enjoyment of torturing Harry and other students is an incredible bit of writing and acting. She is arguably easier to hate than Voldemort, and that dude kills people for fun!

I don’t have much else to analyze. Harry and Sirius have some nice, belated bonding scenes at Grimmauld Place. Evanna Lynch is Luna Lovegood personified. Fred and George’s departure was fun but missed all the great quips and burns they threw at Umbridge and the chaos in the aftermath.

#6 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: Nicolas Hooper

Best moment: Discovering Dumbledore’s body: the tears, the symbolism of the raising of the wands defiantly to defeat the Dark Mark, the powerful, sweeping score, and the realization that Dumbledore is now gone. The following scene of the gang making the decision to leave Hogwarts is a fantastic moment too.

Best quote: “But I am the Chosen One!” – sassy Harry Potter to Hermione Granger

Worst moment: The attack on the Burrow is the dumbest scene in any Harry Potter movie and makes no sense. Dumping this scene and adding 5 more minutes of Tom Riddle’s backstory would have boosted this a spot or two. The attack on the Millennium Bridge felt ridiculous too: in broad daylight in front of Muggles.

Pensieve Memories: This movie has grown on me over time. It might be the most enjoyable Potter movie to rewatch because it is so dang funny. Director David Yates is on the record as turning this movie into a teenage romantic comedy, and he and writer Kloves nail the humor. So many great little bits: Ron and Harry gloating about their free periods and laughing at the struggling first years, “But I am the Chosen One!”, Cormac throwing up on Snape, Harry all stoney-baloney on Veritaserum, Ron being a Quidditch hero and discovering the joys of doing some smoochie-smooching.

This is such a rich looking movie: I love the snowy Quidditch scene, the golden-hour funeral of Aragog, the eerie and unearthly cave, and the grim, dark night for the Death Eaters assault on Hogwarts. A lot of the acting is superb: Jim Broadbent has Slughorn down to a T, Tom Felton gets his chance to shine as Draco, and I think this is Michael Gambon’s best movie as Dumbledore.

This is another movie that would have been perfect as two parts: in order to get all of the vital Voldemort and horcrux backstory in, some of the comedy bits would need to get axed, and that wouldn’t be great either. Yet the story lacks without more focus on Voldemort. It is quite a conundrum; I don’t envy the choices the decision-makers had to make, and wish they would have just gone to two movies.

I really do love this movie; Hogwarts: The Rom-Com is such a fun concept. It just hurts that so much of what made Voldemort a complex and unique villain is sacrificed for some laughs. And it is so glaring and so vital for the finale of the series I can’t put it any higher.

Finally, I feel the need to defend the Horny Harry scene in the beginning with the waitress. That was quality content and you can’t convince me otherwise.

#5 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: John Williams

Best moment: The basilisk fight is epic and the effects still hold up. Shoutout to Aragog too: talk about nightmare fuel for the arachnophobes out there.

Best quote: “Why is it always me?” – Neville Longbottom

Worst moment: Holy smokes that final scene of clapping for Hagrid is way over the top and drags on forever. So cringe.

Pensieve Memories: From here on, the picks get tough. I pretty much have numbers 3-5 tied. Full confession: I love the Columbus-directed films a lot more than I’ve seen a lot of others do. I love how faithful he keeps to the books while nailing the atmosphere, making the wizarding world magical and mysterious. This is actually the only Potter movie that unsettled me a bit: it just has a real uneasy vibe to it. I think Columbus nails the darker atmosphere: most of the movie seems to take place at night, the Basilisk attack scenes with the voices are spooky, and the messages on the wall speak for themselves.

The acting continues to get better and better, Kenneth Branagh is a great choice for Lockhart, and Christian Coulson’s Tom Riddle is my favorite interpretation of the character. The effects are stellar too and feel like a step up from the first movie: the flying Ford, spiders, and basilisk come to mind. I particularly love the possession-flashback scene where Tom Riddle shows Harry his manipulated version of events to get Hagrid expelled.

Why is it at number 5 then? Length. I love this movie, but my goodness some parts just drag here. So many scenes feel like they could have been one minute shorter, and by the end of the movie it adds up. While it is good to wallow in and spend time with new places such as Knockturn Alley and the Burrow, the middle of the movie just drags with seemingly endless debates about whether Harry is the one petrifying people or not. Other scenes I felt could have been cut further include going to Dumbledore’s office for the first time, Dumbledore’s removal from Hogwarts, getting into the Chamber of Secrets, and Lucius and Dumbledore’s spirited debate at the end. A little more time in the edit bay could have done wonders to the end product.

In some ways, Chamber feels like a continuation of Sorcerer’s Stone. The score is almost the same as the first one, with John Williams’ tight schedule not allowing for much innovation in the soundtrack. The costumes and hairstyles are the same, and would change from the next film onward (shoutout to Draco’s douchey slicked-back hair – RIP). Richard Harris plays Dumbledore for the final time before his passing. The film series will evolve heavily starting in Prisoner of Azkaban, and I don’t always think for the better.

#4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2010)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: Alexandre Desplat

Best moment: Snape’s Memories. Try not to cry.

Best quote: “Always” – Severus Snape to Albus Dumbledore

Worst moment: Voldemort developing really bad dandruff. Also treating the climactic battle like a sideshow in the main character’s quest.

Thoughts: I really, really want to appreciate this movie more. There is so much wonderful buildup to the climax here: the opening shot of Snape watching the students Army march around Hogwarts, the epic Gringotts sequence, the reunion with Neville and friends, Harry standing up to Snape and McGonagall’s intervention, and the preparations for the battle (the force field = chills!). Even though I don’t love how the battle largely takes place off screen, the shots of our heroes running through the courtyard dodging obstacles in order of their appearance in the movies is high art. Snape’s death, the revelations in the Pensieve, Harry’s sacrifice, and the “King’s Cross” sequence? All brilliant. Just thinking about all those amazing moments gets me hyped for a rewatch. Then Harry returns from his vision with Dumbledore and the whole thing goes to poop emoji.

I’ll say this: I do appreciate the license the director’s had to add their own interpretations of the source material. It allowed for some great moments throughout the movies, even in this one (“I’ve always wanted to use that spell!”). I just feel the ending as it was written in the book was so perfect, so symbolic, so epic, and wrapped so many loose ends up that it should never have been messed with. Instead, we get Voldemort bitchslapping Harry, Voldemort and Harry doing cartwheels in the air, a jarring to cut to Molly Weasley’s admittedly satisfying take-down of Bellatrix, and then Voldemort flaking away into nothingness after Neville kills Nagini. Oh, and Harry breaks the Elder Wand in two without repairing his own, leaving him with Draco’s I guess? It just feels so empty to me: so many duels left out, so many character arcs hanging, and the big duel not happening in front of everyone just take all the emotion out of it. It is a massive let down.

I do want to give a shoutout to the overly hated epilogue. It ruled and bringing back Leaving Hogwarts as the ending song in a callback to the first movie was legendary. Plus Ron kind of looks like Donald Trump for no real reason, which I think is hilarious. 

For that reason, I always have a hard time placing this movie. I seriously considered keeping Chamber of Secrets above it, but the highs of this movie are so much higher that even though the lows are really low, #4 feels like a good spot for it.

#3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: John Williams

Best moment: The Shrieking Shack, peaking when Sirius dunks on Snape with “Why don’t you run along and play with your chemistry set”. Such a devastating put-down that there is no possible comeback for. Snape playing the hero and saving the trio from Werewolf Lupin moments after this humiliation is honestly one of his finest moments.

Best quote: The aforementioned “Why don’t you run along and play with your chemistry set.” – Sirius Black obliterating Severus Snape’s dignity

Worst moment: For moments in the movie, I’ll go with the scene at the Leaky Cauldron; Fudge being hammy, Tom being freaky, and the Monster Book of Monsters being a waste of time. For plot though, not explaining who the Marauders are is a massive oversight, although the movie was made before all the books had been released.

Pensieve Memories: As a stand-alone movie, this would probably rank number one. It’s an artsy, dramatic, and weird film that is just a blast to watch. It’s also jarring: so much of the Potter world is changed visually and stylistically from its predecessors it takes me out of the movie a bit. Key plot points that were supposed to be mentioned here as well get dropped.

Director Alfonso Cuaron’s fingerprints are all over this one from the start: the movie opens with Harry using magic at Privet Drive, one movie after he almost gets expelled from Hogwarts for the exact same thing. He changes a great deal of the established world: the Leaky Cauldron, Hagrid’s Hut, the Whomping Willow, the Forbidden Forest, and the Hogwarts landscape all receive major makeovers. Hogwarts uniforms change, casual Muggle-style clothing is introduced, and even several character’s wands change in appearance. While I think the landscape changes were nice and helped Hogwarts feel more real, some of the other changes I felt were a bit much and seemed like the director was making change for change’s sake.

While all the major character’s traits were established in the films prior, both plot and relationships take a giant leap forward here. Peter Pettigrew’s escape and return to Voldemort really sparks the rest of the story, and his haunting turn and wave to Harry before turning back into a rat is a great moment. For the fact that the movie deals with time-travel, I think Cuaron does a brilliant job handling the nuances and issues that can come with time travel brilliantly, and the sequence of saving Sirius and making it back to the hospital before midnight is pure movie magic. This really is Harry’s movie: he gets great development from learning to ride Buckbeak, learning about the betrayal of his parents, struggling to deal with dementors and produce a Patronus, confronting Sirius and then Pettigrew, and saving Sirius twice in the final act. Writing that out makes me finally come to grips with why the Quidditch final against Slytherin, the best game in the entire franchise and a crowning moment for Harry, gets left on the cutting room floor. I wish it was available as an additional scene though!

This is a great bit of cinema and done in a way that someone just picking up the Potter films for the first time can understand pretty easily what is going on, but some creative decision just don’t work for me in the context of the whole Potter saga, hence it is number three.

#2 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: John Williams

Best moment: So many options, but the first sight of Hogwarts. Such an amazing moment seeing the castle on the big screen for the first time. Shoutout to Wizard Chess, a close second, as well as: the first glimpse of Diagon Alley, “You’re a wizard, Harry!”, and the first round of wizarding classes at Hogwarts.

Best quote: “She needs to sort out her priorities!” – Ron Weasley to Harry Potter regarding his one true love, Hermione

Worst moment: The troll scene’s effects haven’t aged great. Some of the Nicolas Flamel search scenes are kind of derpy.

Pensieve Memories: For the longest time, I had this at number one. I know this is an unpopular pick considering the more family-oriented style, comparative lack of action, and slower pacing, but hear me out. Chris Columbus, Stuart Craig, and producer David Heyman were creating a new universe from scratch. Nothing like Hogwarts or the wizarding world as depicted in the books had ever been a big screen blockbuster before, and they rose to the occasion. Think about it: how does the look, feel, and atmosphere of Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, etc. compare to what you imagined it would look like? I bet it’s pretty similar. This is some of the greatest world-building I have ever seen in a film: the castle feels very lived-in, the costumes are the most similar to wizard-wear of any film, and so many characters are established perfectly in under 2.5 hours. There is a real wonder and whimsy here; the colors are brighter and John Williams’ score is iconic and magical. I really think it gets slept on what an achievement this film is.

I don’t think some of the criticisms I’ve seen leveled at this movie hold up. The three most common I’ve seen is the effects aren’t great, the acting fluctuates, and the plot isn’t at all important later on. I’ll go one at time. This is a movie from 2001, so of course the CGI isn’t going to be as good as it is in 2011. While the troll scene admittedly looks pretty fake, I think the Voldemort CGI in the back of Quirrell’s head holds up. Some of the practical effects are also well done: the letters coming out of the fireplace and Ron’s sacrifice in the chess game come to mind.

As far as the criticism of the child acting goes, I get a little uneasy. Yes, I know it is the job of critics to, well, offer criticism. I just struggle to think of having to read negative things about your performance at 11 or 12. For their first major feature, I think the child actors were generally very good, and you could see them growing into their roles as the movie goes along. The all-star cast of adult actors also helps: Alan Rickman’s run as Severus Snape is legendary, but so many others standout too: Maggie Smith as McGonagall, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, and Richard Harris’ kinder and gentler portrayal of Dumbledore are all A+ casting choices.

Finally, the plot. Yes, very little of it matters at the end of the day. But I think that misses the point of both the book and movie: it is the setting up of the world and introduction to the lead characters that is the true point of Sorcerer’s Stone. Everything else is a cherry on top, a preview of things to come if you will.

It may not be the most exciting movie, but I think it both the most flawless and most magical of the bunch, and well deserving of its rank.

#1 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: Steve Kloves

Music by: Alexandre Desplat

Best moment: The beginning and the end: the montage of the three heroes coming to grips with their new reality at the very beginning, and Dobby ripping your heart in two after reeling off some sick roasts of Bellatrix and the Malfoys. The incredible animation of The Tale of the Three Brothers is also up there.

Best quote: “Dobby never meant to kill! Dobby only meant to maim, or seriously injure!” – Dobby the House Elf, the purest of souls

Worst moment: Wormtail’s final act. Such a pivotal moment for an important and long-lasting character. I know the director didn’t want to put something so horrifying as a dude choking himself out in the film, but surely there was some better way to show him having a momentary flicker of remorse and paying the price for it. I have to give a shout to cutting the Dursley’s farewell scene; peep the televised extended version that edits in the exchange between Harry and Petunia seamlessly and tell me that’s not an improvement!

Pensieve Memories: I bet not many saw this coming! I think enjoyment of this movie comes down to one thing: whether you like the road-trip feel of Part 1 compared to being at Hogwarts. I happen to love the camping scenes: just being able to slow down and spend some time with the Core Three without any major action going on is a treat, and their struggles as barely-adult fugitives with the fate of the world on their shoulders is conveyed brilliantly. Their chemistry, their love for each, but the problems they face and how each deal with them is such a massive piece of development, and some of my favorite parts of the film.

The faithfulness to the source material here is probably the strongest of any movie post Prisoner of Azkaban, and the deviations they do make only add to the film. Of note is the Harry and Hermione dance, which I think is a really touching moment between friends that also solidifies nothing more happening between them, Neville giving the Death Eaters some major sass on the Hogwarts Express showing his newfound confidence, and the decision to have major events elsewhere conveyed through the radio broadcasts, which adds to the heroes’ sense of isolation and shows the gravity of the situation.

The real star here is Dobby: it feels like Steve Kloves and David Yates really nailed the character’s quirks and humor compared to how grating and annoying he was in Chamber of Secrets. From his reappearance during the capture of Mundungus Fletcher to saving the squad at Malfoy Manor, he becomes the badass quote machine he was always meant to be.

The acting is all superb, the artistic decision of dulling the colors showcases the grim situation is good one, and it is just a fun yet thought provoking movie. I love it; I just wish the second half had dunked the perfect lob from the first part.