Best Harry Potter film in the franchise

[Schlosser85]

I've always been inclined toward Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix. Though Half-Blood Prince is also very well-done.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I find it interesting you say this. I rather love both, and find the first especially important to the overall story. A very good origin. I personally find the first two films the be the most obviously whimsical and magical. They have a 80s Speilberg quality to them, combined with the more classic children story magical presentation. One aspect I really like about the first two movies is how massive the castle feels, without feeling empty. It's warm and inviting, while still being dark and threatening. The later films just kind of lose that. The castle doesn't feel alive in the same way, and the magic itself is kind of reduced to an after thought. Just flick your wrist and light will come out of your wand. Actually it is kind of interesting, as the latter films post Goblet kind of feel more high tech, with varying filters, then necessarily overtly magical.

Perhaps most important however, is Williams score. It establish the sound of the series, and did so in the most whimsical and magical way possible imo.

Yeah, I'm totally the opposite of you on this (with the exception of the score, they do have the best ones). They just seem so empty and bland and paint by numbers to me. Prisoner of Azkaban seems like the books come to life, this magical world where there is all this strange stuff going on in the background that has nothing to do with the plot or anything and a maze like castle and grounds that is something out of high fantasy. The first two by comparison are like visiting Universal Studios. The world is a lot smaller and a lot less visually interesting.

So I'm just going to agree to disagree. I don't see us coming to an understanding here.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I am in the minority I think. Half Blood Prince is my favorite. Though upon rewatches, I'd likely go PoA and GoF as my next 2.

I love the book. Definitely one of the best. I might feel differently if I saw the film first, but I really feel the film shortchanges Riddle's character. Voldemort's story about how he came to be is one of the best parts of the books and they completely gloss over it in the movie. While normally I don't like judging films soley on "accuracy" (you'll see me be perfectly fine with other HP films cutting out the fluff), but I think diminishing the main antagonist like that and his relationship/comparisons with Harry does hurt it. Those scenes really are the heart of the book HBP.

If time was an issue, they should have cut the romance subplots. They are much less important. HBP is more Voldemort's and Snape's story (and Draco's) than it is Harry's.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I love the book. Definitely one of the best. I might feel differently if I saw the film first, but I really feel the film shortchanges Riddle's character. Voldemort's story about how he came to be is one of the best parts of the books and they completely gloss over it in the movie. While normally I don't like judging films soley on "accuracy" (you'll see me be perfectly fine with other HP films cutting out the fluff), but I think diminishing the main antagonist like that and his relationship/comparisons with Harry does hurt it. Those scenes really are the heart of the book HBP.

This probably bothers me less since I have never read any of the books, LOL! I have only ever experienced the films.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

This probably bothers me less since I have never read any of the books, LOL! I have only ever experienced the films.

Very possibly. Like I said, I'm biased here. But I can't really help it. I can't exactly go back in time and see the movie first!

 

[Spider-Fan]

Very possibly. Like I said, I'm biased here. But I can't really help it. I can't exactly go back in time and see the movie first!

Sure ya can! Just find a Delorian

 

[Boom]

Azkaban by a long shot.

 

[Marvolo]

Prisoner of Azkaban is the most well made of the bunch tho it isnt the one I enjoy the most. I enjoy Deathly Hallows the most.

 

[Marvolo]

I love the book. Definitely one of the best. I might feel differently if I saw the film first, but I really feel the film shortchanges Riddle's character. Voldemort's story about how he came to be is one of the best parts of the books and they completely gloss over it in the movie. While normally I don't like judging films soley on "accuracy" (you'll see me be perfectly fine with other HP films cutting out the fluff), but I think diminishing the main antagonist like that and his relationship/comparisons with Harry does hurt it. Those scenes really are the heart of the book HBP.

If time was an issue, they should have cut the romance subplots. They are much less important. HBP is more Voldemort's and Snape's story (and Draco's) than it is Harry's.

I think the film improved on the book in some ways and ruined some other things. Hermione in the film is a massive improvement. In the book she is entirely out of character. Her and Ron both for that matter. Malfoy is clearly up to something and for 5 books they have easily believed Malfoy capable of shady and mischievous ****. They know his parents are in league with Voldemort. Up to their eyeballs in his schemes. They know Voldemort has zero problem killing, harming, and using children. But for most of the book they stubbornly refuse to believe Malfoy could be up to anything malicious or that Voldemort might use him in one of his schemes. They don't even seem to care. Too up their own asses with concerns about their own petty emotional BS. They even at one point get mad at Harry and act as if he is annoying them with his concerns about Malfoy and Voldemort. For that matter the adults around him seem to act the same way about his concerns. And it's clear Rowling only did this because she needed to drag that malfoy business out for 600 pages and isolate Harry. I think it was possible to do that without having Hermione and Ron and the adults around him suddenly act like they didnt know what the Malfoys and Voldemort were capable of.

The Lavender nonsense was improved by taking up little of the screen time. Less Slug Club **** was also and improvement.

The distilling of Voldemort's backstory was efficient, but extremely unsatisfying. Cutting the battle at the end of the film was also extremely disappointing. The excuse Yates ga e was that the Deathly Hallows had a huge Hogwarts battle and he thought a battle in HBP would be redundant. Nonsense. The Death Eaters being able to just stroll out of Hogwarts after killing Dumbledore and wrecking the Great Hall made no damn sense. They encounter two aurors and they dont even put up a fight. Useless.

Dan and Bonnie have zero chemistry and their "love" subplot is lifeless and forgettable. Unfortunately that effects the DH films as well.

Side note:I adore the cinematography in the film. The sepia tones, deep colors, and golden hues is some of the best in the franchise and gives the film an otherworldly and magical feel that sadly wasnt on display in Yates other films.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Dan and Bonnie have zero chemistry and their "love" subplot is lifeless and forgettable. Unfortunately that effects the DH films as well.

This was an unfortunate side effect of starting the series with kids. Radcliffe and Watson were clearly the pairing with chemistry, but there was no way of knowing that when they were casting for the first film.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I was incredibly impressed by Radcliffe in HP and as I've stated, I've only just completed watching these films, so I've actually watched his post-Potter work before Potter, and his body of work across all material he's done, has been strong, particularly Woman in Black & Horns. Watson too grew well into the role, I was less impressed with Grint, tbh.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I think Radcliffe definitely has turned out to be the best actor of the three, which did not seem like it was going to be the case early on.

 

[Marvolo]

Radcliffe only, imo, had real trouble in HBP and DH and that had more to do with his alcohol problems than a lack of acting ability. He said he never drank at work, but he went to work drunk and can even pin point the scenes when he was drunk. But even before that interview I could spot those scenes. I didnt know he was drunk, but he looked spaced out and dead faced. Where he should be showing emotion hed just sorta look like a knot on a log. None of the energy he showed prior to HBP.

This is the interview if yall never heard about this:

Daniel Radcliffe: 'I was drunk during Harry Potter filming'

In spite of those moments tho he's still a good Harry Potter and likeable as the character.

 

[Iceman]

I didn't know about Radcliffe having alcohol issues. Hope that is over for good for him.

 

[Iceman]

I think Radcliffe definitely has turned out to be the best actor of the three, which did not seem like it was going to be the case early on.

I can safely say I never thought it was going to be Ron.

Emma Watson was probably early favourite but Radcliffe has improved a lot.

 

[Mandon Knight]

The level of pressure he must have been under, being the figure-head of a multi-million dollar franchise would lead to alcohol dependency to a certain degree, knowing it's all on you at such a young age.

The pressure to be at the top of your game and be this beaming fiction hero for 10 years, it's no wonder frankly.

 

[Herofan]

I think Radcliffe but kind of all the trio actors peaked in PoA, then in the rest they pretty much coasted aside from that Grint/Ron really didn't get much material aside from in GoF.

Bonnie Wright as Ginny was good in CoS and her very small role in GoF, OK in OotP, then very disappointingly flat in HBP.

Also, HBP was probably the most rushed (collection-of-highlights) film while DH1 the most stretched-out one and while both are flaws the latter is a lot worse.

 

[Ninjablade]

Been awhile since I've watched all the films, but GoF has always been a real highlight for me. The Tournament is a lot of fun and made for some really cool action sequences. I think my least favorite is probably PoA, but it's my least favorite book as well. The time travel really bothered me.

A tentative ranking would be:
Goblet of Fire
Deathly Hallows pt.2
Half-Blood Prince
Chamber of Secrets
Philosopher's Stone
Deathly Hallows pt.1
Order of the Phoenix
Prisoner of Azkaban