All the Harry Potter Movies, Ranked From Worst to Best

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Newt Scamander

This movie is almost unanimously considered the worst Harry Potter movie out there. It’s really just misses the mark on almost everything, leaving you with a mediocre and underwhelming entry in the series.

The movie feels like an unwanted comeback tour where all of the hits are played but they sound nothing like you remember. A lot of the features of the Harry Potter films are here on paper, but they’re thrown together in a way that just makes it hard to care.

Anyone who’s not a hardcore Potterhead usually struggles to see the good in this effort.

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Albus Dumbledore

The completion of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy ends on a slightly higher note than its immediate predecessor, but that’s also not saying much. It fixes some of the problems people had with the previous movie, namely Jude Law’s Dumbledore not getting enough screentime. It also has a more focused narrative, knowing what it wants to be a little bit more – but only a little bit more.

In general, Secrets of Dumbledore still lacks the lustre that made the first Fantastic Beasts movie worth watching at all, let alone the bar set by any of the initial eight Harry Potter movies. There’s also some unignorable controversy hovering over this film in various forms, which doesn’t help at all.

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Jacob Kowalski

The first Fantastic Beasts movie was still admittedly not quite up to par with the films it chronologically comes before, but it’s worth noting that its source material is a guidebook, so it does a good job considering.

The world-building that happens here outside of our usual setting of Hogwarts is commendable and the characters are likeable, but the makers went with a plot that was a little lighter-hearted as opposed to something heavy, like the fascism that exists in the 1920s wizarding world. The result is a decent movie suffering from an identity crisis because it feels like it has a great movie hidden somewhere inside of it.

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Sirius Black

David Yates ended up closing out the entire second half of this series of movies, making Order of the Phoenix his first project. As a result, the movies take a darker turn here, one that fans either really appreciate as a fresh perspective on the world or one that makes fans long for the old days.

The main issue with this movie for us is how thrown together the plot with the prophecy feels. It’s the furthest thing from insignificant, but it’s never explained in great deal which takes away from some of the weight of the final third.

Another common criticism of this movie is that it deviates from the overall direction of the book too much by leaving out key details and shifting that focus too side plots that weren’t so significant in the first place.

One of the high points of this movie is Imelda Staunton’s portrayal of Dolores Umbridge, a character that is essentially universally detested because of how strong the acting was. The death of Sirius Black also stands out as one of the better moments of the entire series and another career highlight from the talented Gary Oldman.

• Directed by: Chris Columbus
• The MVP: Hermione Granger

Chamber of Secrets is far from a bad movie – in fact, there isn’t much close to a bad movie from this point in the list onwards – it’s just an excruciatingly long one for what’s going on. At 161 minutes, it’s the longest film in the series and that runtime comes as a result of Chris Columbus trying to cram in as much from the book as possible. Many like it because of that fact, feeling it’s the best adaptation specifically, but what you’re left with is a charming film that would have been much better off with the fat trimmed.

Perhaps some of the issues with this film over the years lie more with the fact that it’s aimed almost solely at children. In terms of archetypes, Gilderoy Lockhart is the annoying, cowardly hero who’s not really a hero and Ginny the innocent girl steered in the wrong direction. These things can make for a frustrating watch, especially with a runtime close to 3 hours.

Overall though, it’s a fun film with genuine high points.

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Dobby

Perhaps the decision to split the adaptation of the final book into two parts always meant that the first part wasn’t going to be received so well. It was one of the criticisms of the first book that too much time was spent idle, so turning that into an entire feature-length movie was a bold choice.

Again, the movie isn’t bad at all, but it certainly suffers from being almost entirely setup for the real conclusion to the movies. It brings up a lot of loose threads without ever tying them together but of course that doesn’t mean it has no redeeming qualities.

The severity of the situation at hand is conveyed fully in how turbulent the relationship between our three main characters gets. The animated portion about the three brothers is another highpoint. Plus, anything to do with Polyjuice potion is usually a thumbs up.

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Albus Dumbledore

Half-Blood Prince is David Yates’ second effort in the franchise and takes another step outside the world that these beloved characters lived in previously. This film actually has far more comedy elements, which mostly come as a result of the complicated romantic emotions that the teenagers are feeling in their 6^th year at Hogwarts.

Despite that though, the film continues on with the darker shift (even literally with its grading), blending that with all of its other elements quite well. The film focuses on character growth moments like Dumbledore’s final moments and Harry’s attempt to gain Slughorn’s trust as opposed to Quidditch battles and petty arguments that we’d had enough of by this point.

Of course, this movie ends with Dumbledore’s tragic death and the realization that Snape is indeed the Half-Blood Prince. The former of those brings about a main criticism of the film – that it’s unbelievable that Harry would stand and do nothing as Snape killed Dumbledore. In the books, Harry’s put under a spell that makes it impossible for him to do anything. Luckily, it’s not a plot point that makes or breaks the moment entirely for most.

• Directed by: Chris Columbus
• The MVP: Ron Weasley

Going back and watching the first movie after the series has already finished, it’s clear that the franchise was still finding its footing with Philosopher’s Stone. It’s a little rougher around the edges and feels like it half wants to be a fun kids Christmas movie more than anything else (whether you think that’s what it is or not). But regardless of that, Chris Columbus’ first movie laid the groundwork for the series and does an incredible job of capturing the magic of the world and the magic of the relationship between our characters, which is all you ever really need.

It does a lot more right than it does wrong and for that simple fact, it more than holds up. 

• Directed by: David Yates
• The MVP: Neville Longbottom

The second part of the Deathly Hallows was a fitting conclusion to a massive story. It takes place mostly in Hogwarts, and a Hogwarts that’s largely unrecognizable from its earliest appearances. The energy is bleak and students are traumatized, making for the perfect scene to close out the series.

Where Part 1 sort of suffers from being mostly setup, Part 2 thrives due to all the payoff you get – whether that’s the final battle between Harry and Voldemort, Ron and Hermione's relationship arc or that touching scene where Snape’s true alliance is revealed.

While some are critical about how beloved characters are killed offscreen here, it only adds to the sense of how great the scale of the battle was.

• Directed by: Mike Newell
• The MVP: Harry Potter

Goblet of Fire was the movie that truly expanded our knowledge of the wizarding world, bringing in other schools to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. The way the games play out here really boost this movie up on this list. Stakes are high at multiple points throughout the film, with Harry’s fierce battle with the Hungarian Horntail, the suspense of the underwater task and of course the final maze and the emotion that comes with the graveyard scene.

Of course, all of the action is backed by the first real taste of adulthood for the characters here, driven by the Yule Ball. It marked a transitional period where fans could start to look at these characters as real people as opposed to children on the other side of a screen.

Harry’s encounter with Voldemort in the graveyard followed by the gut-wrenching scene where he uses the portkey to take Cedric’s body back to the crowd is one of the more emotional scenes in the entire franchise. We’ll never forget the elation from the onlookers turning to despair when they realize what has happened.

• Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
• The MVP: Hermione Granger

Prisoner of Azkaban is the perfect balance between the fantastical atmosphere of the earlier films and the adult-themes and gloom of the later films.

Films in this genre and of course Harry Potter films specifically get a criticism for not being considered highbrow enough for them to be considered great movies. Without a doubt, Prisoner of Azkaban is the best shot at that, with a genuinely surprising twist about Sirius Black at the end, if you haven’t already read the books anyway. The movie also boasts some of the better time travel sequences done in any movie ever, with many experts praising it for how on point and to the science it actually is, as much as something that’s only theoretically possible can be anyway.

The third Harry Potter film does an excellent job of creating a new atmosphere around Hogwarts and a great final third that feels unique in the series because it’s one that doesn’t feature Voldemort. All of that makes for a stellar showing and one that the upcoming Harry Potter series will try to live up to.