Boo! Happy Halloween! 🕷🕸🎃👻 In honour of all things spooky I decided today was a good day to post my reviews of all eight Harry Potter films!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Harry has spent the first eleven years of his life with a family who hates him and wishes he didn’t exist. Things all change when letters start pouring in from a place he’s never heard of. Sent to study magic, his whole world is turned upside down as in the wizarding world, he’s famous. Living up to his name, he and his two friends, Ron and Hermione, learn things they shouldn’t, getting into mischief to try and save the school from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The film really took the book and ran with it; as much as it wasn’t verbatim, it was close enough the readers of the book were satisfied. It was a slow build to get to the plot, as the first hour of the film was purely introductions into the world, and it didn’t feel like an hour. The actual plot of the film was well done, and engaging to watch. The introduction to each character was so well done; we get a full sense of who each character is whether you’ve read the books or not. The acting was so well done too; it felt so believable, and they were so relatable, even if they did magic. This first film was felt so thought out, that it feels like there was time spent to make it the best it could possibly be.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: It’s Harry’s second year at Hogwarts and he starts off his year with a House Elf named Doby, trying to prevent him from going back to Hogwarts to protect him from the Chamber of Secrets. The Chamber has been opened and the whole school is in pandemonium, unsure of what to do; it’s Harry and Ron who really come through using Hermione’s help to stop Tom Riddle. This film, like the first was very well done, and very well organized with a lot of attention to detail. The slow introduction to the plot is what makes these films so enjoyable. We, the viewer, get to feel like we’re right there with the characters. The execution is excellent, especially in this film, as there is a lot of history to unpack about the school, and it doesn’t come off too strong, or too much. With each film, we learn more and more about this world and just like the books they’re based off of, we dive deeper and the filming is great because they manage to get pretty much everything in. These films never feel like they’re two hours or more in length because the pacing is so well done, and of course the story is so enchanting, and the acting is phenomenal. Not only are these kid actors so talented, but the adults are just as much and when it all comes together it’s truly a masterpiece.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: It’s Harry’s third year at Hogwarts and things don’t go as planned, yet again. There is a murderer on the loose, Siruis Black, who is said to be on the hunt to kill a teenager. With Dementors set up around the school to protect the students from Black, Harry is fearful Black is out to kill him. Together, Harry, Ron and Hermione set out to find answers to all the mysteries surrounding Siruis Black. This film took its time getting to any real plot, it spent most of the time introducing Siruis Black. It needed to be done in a way that viewers understood who he is, and his real purpose, and it was done very well. Everything was shot so well, even though it took some time to get to any real action. A lot of this film was set up for what’s to come in the future films, which is good, but it’s not always thrilling to watch. In this third movie you can see the growth in these characters. Harry is portrayed to have so much vengeance to parents he’s never really met; although based on the book, it feels like the movie took it one step further to show his anger. The acting, while exceptional, there were some moments this time around where it started to waver, but even so, this was still an incredible adaption and wonderful movie.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Entering his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry learns of the Triwizard Tournament, a tournament that brings around students from other wizarding schools to compete in a number of very dangerous tasks. When Harry’s name comes out of the goblet, he becomes the youngest competitor, adding to his repertoire of fame. This fourth movie takes the viewer outside of the school aspect of things, and shows us that there is another side to the wizarding world. This film introduces the viewer to new characters who add interest, and chaos. The way it was all orchestrated was done well and the directors used it to play to viewer’s emotions. It was also good to see other schools in this world, to see the world expanding. Where the book gave us beautiful imagery the movie did not; there was so much talk of the Quidditch World Cup in the book that it was disappointing to see pretty much none of it, and because there was so much happening in this book it was impossible to add it all in the movie, and it’s sad to see the whole house elves plot scraped. But all of that aside, what they did decide to show was meaningful for future plots, and was highly entertaining. This was the film they should have broken into two parts.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Harry and his friends are entering their fifth year at Hogwarts but before he can make it there, he realizes that no one knows what happened during his encounter with Lord Voldemort, and this leaves the ministry in shambles. This leads them to hire a nasty professor who would rather they read about spells than to actually perform them; that’s when Harry starts his own army to get his friends ready for another potential attack. This film was done well. We spend a lot of time in the beginning of the film somewhat explaining and more so alluding to the fact that Dumbledore is planning to start an army. The beginning of the film feels a little confusing as to what is going on. As the film progresses it becomes clearer, but a lot of what was told in the book needs to be executed some way, and they chose to use blocks of dialogue to convey it all, which is kinda bulky and not the best to watch. The second half of this film is definitely filled with non-stop action. What was done really well was the introduction to new characters. Meeting Luna Lovegood was fun and whimsical, and Dolores Umbridge was not only diabolical but they got the actress who plays her down to a T; she’s perfect for the evil role. The viewer can definitely tell the characters are getting older, and maturing with new and old relationships and it was shown in a very teen angst sort of way, which was perfect. This film is the beginning of the end, and as the ending alluded to it’s going to be a fight to the death.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry is starting to figure out what he’s going to do after school, but before he can do this, things go wrong. Death Eaters are not only attacking the Wizarding world, but the Muggle world as well, making it unsafe for students at Hogwarts. That’s when Dumbledore starts to prepare Harry for the final battle with Voldemort. This movie, even though this wasn’t an action heavy movie, minus the ending, and that’s why it gets a lot of flak, it’s still a very well done film. The dialogue is what really holds this movie together; it’s serious when it needs to be, and actually quite humorous and witty the rest of it. We get quite a bit of backstory in this film that leads to the final battle and it was good to see, and it was well done in the way they decided to show it. There are a lot of unnecessary romantic scenes, although admittedly they were quite entertaining to watch. The ending shot is so beautifully done; it perfectly shows the calm before the storm, which is essentially what this whole film was about.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1: Harry, Ron and Hermione have ditched Hogwarts in search of Horcruxes, things that Voldemort is using to keep himself alive. Voldemort on the other hand has set his Death Eaters loose on the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts in search of Harry. This film starts off with a lot of set up but soon turns into action; it has a lot of execution, and a lot of dialogue to explain a lot of what is happening, which isn’t the best to watch. There are new and old characters who return making the plot thicken and giving viewers a little something. For a film that was split in two they sure do take their time with scenes, and that really sets up the tension because it is definitely building and viewers can feel and see throughout this film especially through our main characters. This film ends on a definite sad note, but also on a true high that leaves viewers craving that last bit to the story.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2: While out searching for Horcruxes, Harry, Ron and Hermione find themselves back at Hogwarts to find the remaining ones. This then leads to the impending doom of the final battle. Enemies are split in two, and secrets are revealed for the last time. This plot is fast moving and it feels like no time has passed. We start exactly where the last film ended and we spend this half at Hogwarts. The way they split the two movies was done so well as the first half complimented the second half, and it all came together to become this one beautifully constructed piece of work. The viewer can really feel the somberness in this film; between the black and dark tones and the soft sad music, it’s all so very well-orchestrated. Some of the dialogue is just utter brilliant and placed so perfectly, it felt like everything fit together so well. The final battle is just as epic as it’s told to be; there isn’t a single bad thing about it, the struggle that is shown is completely real, and no one goes down without a fight. The ending was alright; the epilogue wasn’t really needed but a nice bonus to see. Overall, all these movies in this franchise were done extremely well, with precision and accuracy, paying close enough attention to the books to leave readers and viewers alike in awe.