How Would You Rank The Harry Potter Series?

Its been over four years since the last Harry Potter movie was released, but even though the attention of media has been diminished towards all things related with Harry Potter, the enthusiasm and love for Harry Potter is still going strong for its faithful fans (Including me). And after all this these year, it is finally time for me to rank the movies from the good ones to the most amazing ones.
This has been a very difficult task for me and will incur the wrath of some virtuously ardent zealots; but it will be a fun way to go back to the glory of the magical world and living our times when we were growing up as Children watching these movies (and of course you all are free to give it your own rankings, do mention them in the comments.). And yes the rankings are based on the films and not the books.

Lets start from the ‘not as good as the others one’ :

8. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)

                                          This is a game of life and death.

This is the movie when all the shit gets “real”. The first three-quarters of the film are concerned with Triwizard Tournament and in this movie Rowling attempts to showcase the audience the witches and wizards of other parts of the world. It was more of a romantic and out-of-the-context movie for me (of course, excluding the last 30 minutes). It also sparks a romantic connection between Ron and Hermione (which is good) but the other aspects were quite irrelevant. It is like you are watching some completely different movie until the last moment when the Portkey takes Harry and Cedric to Godric’s Hollow. But it for sure picks up when we enter to the graveyard and the shit gets real when Wormtail sacrifices his thumb for his master and Cedric dies and the visit of Harry’s dead parents. This Harry Potter flick then becomes realistic and cane scary. This also marks the actual comeback of Voldemort but overall it is the least ‘Harry Potter’ of all. It is like you can skip this part and you will miss nothing.

7. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002)

                              There are other ways to go to Hogwarts, my friend!

Think about it, a large monster terrorizes people on campus forcing them one by one into weird mental state while our protagonists hastily try to figure out who is controlling the attacks. That’s a classic mystery set-up, which picks up the pace during the frightening climactic battle between the Basilisk and Harry, but the whole movie could have benefited from a few more scares (although people who are afraid of large spiders may care to disagree, like Ron). This movie is also one of the poorly directed movies of all the Harry Potter movies because it maintained the same tone and plot line just like the first part but in a different way. There were positives also in the movie, like the scene at the end in the Chamber (amazingly directed and gave the thrills), increasing bond and love between Ron, Hermione and Harry; Potter got aware of his few of many abilities which he acquired from ‘Voldemort’ and used his skills to a great extent, like talking to Snakes. Overall, this movie could have been much better if more thrills and scares were included.

6. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

                                         Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself!

This is one movie I loved watching while growing up, In winters I would be all cozied up in my blanket, drinking a cup hot “Chocolate-milk” and enjoying the thrill and chills given by this movie. I would act like a wizard (Harry, to be precise.) in front of my parents, I would build castles with bed-sheets and enact the roles with my friends. Oh! This movie shaped my childhood in many fronts but now when I look back after all these years it reminds me that how much better Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson got as actors doesn’t bode particularly well for this movie.
For example, on the Hogwarts Express, the nervousness of the actors is perfect because they are playing kids who are meeting each other for the first time. That scenario would make anyone nervous, and it’s particularly difficult when you are traveling on a magical train after you have just recently been told that you are a rich and famous celebrity that vanquished the Dark Lord when you were only a baby.
Yes, this movies creates a visual in our mind, it introduces us to the magical world of Harry Potter. But then this movie was just meant for “fun” for kids and not some thrill ride. And even the creators didn’t knew that time that this series will turn out to be a huge success, or it could be more than “fun” for kids and can be enjoyed by people of any age.

5. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)

    And Harry thought inexplicably of Ginny, her blazing look, and the feel of her lips on his.

Yes I remember J. K. Rowling saying its her favourite but for me I consider it putting it on the “Fifth Slot”. Yes, most of the scenes in this movie are breath-taking and emotional, it is the most comical of all the series and humor is on the top-notch here. It for sure build many relations, plots, reveals lots of secrets but it felt like it ended in quite a disruptive way (like, it wasn’t meant to end like this but the movie was getting longer in duration so they ended it in the middle). The movie also did not show the battle of Death Eaters in Hogwarts and the funeral of Dumbledore (how could they edit it from the movie, seriously?) like in the books.
The scene when Ron, Hermione and Harry decide to find the Horcruxes is amazingly filmed and portrayed. This film also mark the start of a romance of between Ron and Hermione on exclusive terms; it also flagships the love between Ginny and Harry. While the book teases out the romance between Harry and Ginny, in the movie it feels rushed and forced. Their supposedly climactic kiss in the Room of Requirement doesn’t hold as much weight as it does in the book when they get together in Gryffindor’s common room in front of Ron and he graciously accepts their relationship.
And at the end it takes a dark turn and is quite fun to watch but it surely is not as fun as the ones on the top list.

4. Harry Potter And The Order Of Phoenix (2007)

                                You told her he Who Must Not Be Named is Back?

Now as we move on the top of the list one can say that this flick of the eight movie series is rightly placed. It is a complete package; action, romance, darkness, magic, death and everything one can expect from a Harry Potter Film. The reason I have placed this movie here is that it has skipped numerous stories from the book which makes it the shortest film of the series whereas the book is the longest of all.
After watching this movie, for some time (before the last 20 minutes of the movie) I started considering Dolores Umbridge as the scariest villain but Voldemort wins this battle at the end and maintain his scare by fighting with Dumbledore in the Atrium of Ministry of Magic and by controlling the mind of Harry for some time. (Oh, this scene beat the shit out of me each time I watch it.) and it also marks the entry of Bellatrix Lestrange.
The movie is extremely dark and brutal and makes us realize the real potential of Tom (Voldemort). The best part of the movie is that from this installment it is not for kids anymore and specially for the ones who are lighthearted.

3. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part – II (2011)

                                                          “After All This Time?”
                                                                     “Always!”

You were eight when you started your Journey with Harry Potter and now you are eighteen and are sitting in the cinemas with the feeling that this is the last Harry Potter movie you are watching, this is the movie where it all ends; you know that you will cry after the movie finishes, you know how it will end but still you go in the cinemas hoping that Voldemort does not kill Harry, hoping that all your favourite characters live happily ever after and just hope that Rowling and the Directors leave just a small hint that they will be back, and you will again live your childhood.
As I’m writing about this movie, I still feel the gulp, the nostalgia that has hit me again, I remember me coming out of the cinemas with tears rolling out of my eyes and the fact that I didn’t spoke for next 1 hour after the movie was finished; that how much heart-broken I was. You have grown with Harry, Ron and Hermione and it is painful to get hold of the fact that your childhood has come full circle with the end of this movie.
This movie serves you right, the only thing that disappoints me about this movie is that; though the battle was a big-budgeted grandiosity and fun to watch it is still not what you were expecting from the last part (leaving out few moments and scenes in the movie). How Voldemort was killed disappointed me the most, it would have been really thrilling and fun to watch if the final battle (at the end of the movie) between and Harry and Voldemort was more intense, dark, struggling and moreover I wanted Harry to kill Voldemort in front of everyone; it would have been “stupefying” that way.
The last scene is amazing and really heart touching when you see them at the Nine and Three Quarters station for the one last time.

2. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part – I (2010)

                              The Ministry has Fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.

Well some of you might think that why did I place this movie on the second spot when the movie offered nothing much of thrill or excitement? Why did I consider it for the second spot when all it showcased was a slow paced journey, fight between three eternal friends (Ron being aways from Harry and Hermione) and moreover when it is considered the worst of all the Harry Potter movies by critics? (But seriously, since when did we start reading critics for Harry Potter?)
To be honest, this is my second favourite movie mostly because it has Dobby in it, because throughout the series he has not received the limelight (and we all hated him for his annoying nature in Chamber Of Secrets). But in this installment he turns out to be a hero, he helps Harry and his friends in all possible ways, Harry frees him from his slavery, and Dobby plays a crucial role in helping Harry when he needs it the most. It was quite heart breaking to see that bitch (Lestrange) killing Dobby but at the same time it was very pleasant to watch Harry burying the deceased by his own hands (which makes you respect all of them even more.)
Most of the scenes were better filmed than all the previous installments and moreover most of them were better than the book (like the forest one, horcrux one, the wedding one at the start, Dobby etc.). They also kept it real by showing the sparks of jealousy in Ron for Hermione and he couldn’t even stand Harry getting close to her (you can say it was the effect of the horcrux on Ron); but this is what happens in real life too (Don’t you think?).
And the dance between Harry and Hermione was a delight to watch and Ron listening to the radio continuously gave you a reality check.
You feel like you are into the world of Harry Potter for the very first time.

1. Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

                             I don’t go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me.

No other movie of this series could take the top spot for me. The Prisoner of Azkaban, with all its twist and turns, is a complete delight to watch. No matter how many times you watch it, you feel like you are watching it for the first time and always end up discovering something new about it. In the previous two instalments they were kids but now the trio is growing up and are faced with some life realities of Hogwarts. The movie also saw a change in the actor who played the character of Albus Dumbledore.
You could feel the magic in this flick everytime you watch and it had some real touch of magic, it mostly revolved around time and how time has impact on the life of these little wizards. For the first time we saw time travel (and in some unique way) in this series and it played a very important role in the further instalments. Also this is the only movie in which Voldemort has not been featured but its good as the other facts of the series were revealed who play very crucial roles later on in the series.
In this part, Harry finally comes to term with his dead parents, he gets to know the true reality of Sirius Black and then the journey to get him out of the prison; a new world of Werewolves and Dementors are introduced into the small little universe of Harry Potter. We as kids (back in 2004) get really serious about this franchise for the first time and start wondering who are the real enemies, friends and what is going to happen in the future?
It started everything, this movie was like the base foundation of all the coming Harry Potter movies.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
                                                                                                                                     ~Albus Dumbledore 

Here’s a tribute to our favourite series on the song “See You Again” (video originally uploaded by theredsoxfan18). Please do watch it because I know you would be in tears after watching this video. And now if you are planning to go on the Harry Potter marathon who’s stopping you to take a day off to live your childhood again.

Remembering Potter.