Harry, Hermione and Ron might’ve got a cauldron full of house points for Gryffindor over the years, but they only managed to get one film onto IMDb’s Top 250 list, and it might not be the one you’re thinking of. In the pantheon of “Harry Potter” films that saw Daniel Radcliffe’s orphan and number one horcrux in the side of He Who Must Not Be Named aka Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), there are plenty to great watches to choose from. Some that might not have aged as well as others and some that might sit lower down the list, but they have a handful of memorable moments regardless. However, according to IMDb’s users, it’s the latter half of the final chapter in the “Harry Potter” franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” that deserves a slot among the select few.
Back in 2011, the world was watching with great anticipation to see if director David Yates would round off the magic trick that was the live-action adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s beloved story, and he did so brilliantly. “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” ended up earning over $1.34 billion at the worldwide box office, which helped to make Yates one of the highest-grossing directors in movie history. But what is it about “Death Hallows: Part 2” that works so well, and does it deserve to rank ahead of not just the other “Harry Potter” films but also the likes of “Ben-Hur,” “Blade Runner,” and even “Jaws” on IMDb? Well, quite frankly, it doesn’t, but as the movie that successfully closed out a huge cinematic feat, it certainly deserves its props.
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 puts a bow on a huge cinematic feat
Much like “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and “Avengers: Endgame,” the second half of “Deathly Hallows” deserves credit simply for existing. Yates’ last trip to Hogwarts with Harry and friends isn’t just the all-or-nothing last push against Voldemort and his army, but also the completion of a decade’s worth of movie-making magic of its own. We watched Radcliffe along with Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and a school full of kids grow up before our very eyes, transforming as people and actors so that when Harry finally swung the Elder Wand, it came with some extra weight. We were saying goodbye to a true era of film that had dominated theaters since 2001 (and which Warner Bros. struggled to recapture with the prequels that followed).
No other “Harry Potter” film carries as much in the way of stakes, drama, grief, and triumph as “Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” culminating with the Boy Who Lived beating death itself and the monster that was bent on delivering it. At the same time, there’s a reason “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” only just made the top five in /Film’s own ranking of the “Harry Potter” movies. The truth is that the real winner of the franchise itself is a much darker and downright gorgeous addition — one that comes with a whole lot more Gary Oldman as well.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still the best Harry Potter film
Before Warner Bros. settled on giving Yates the keys to the Wizarding World for seven films (including three “Fantastic Beasts” movies), there was a time when the director’s chair was getting refilled with every chapter of Harry’s adventures. It was in 2004, however, that Alfonso Cuarón brought a meaner, darker edge to this fantastical universe when it was absolutely necessary, courtesy of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”
The third installment in the “Harry Potter” franchise refines just about every issue that the previous two films had. In particular, Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint really found their footing as actors playing the property’s core heroic trio, bouncing brilliantly between one another over the course of a story that plays like a true mystery (one that even those well-educated in the ways of the Potter-verse can get caught up in trying to solve).
There’s also the added nightmarish elements like Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) — a Hogwarts professor with a monstrous secret — and Gary Oldman portraying Harry’s potentially murderous godfather on the run, Sirius Black. Simply by putting Thewlis and Oldman together in a room with a scenery-chewing Alan Rickman as Harry’s not-so-supportive teacher Severus Snape, the film even manages to deliver the best scene in the entire “Harry Potter” franchise. Plenty of folks peaked in high school, but “Prisoner of Azkaban” is the closest the “Harry Potter” franchise has come so far to delivering a perfect fantasy movie. Solana Token Creator
