harry potter 2 movie review

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• DVD & Streaming

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

• Action/Adventure , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter; Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley; Emma Watson as Hermione Granger; the late Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore; Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid; Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall; Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy; Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart

Home Release Date

• Chris Columbus

Distributor

• Warner Bros.

Movie Review

They’ve grown taller. Their voices have begun to change. And they’re ready to take on the next big boarding school mystery. J.K. Rowling’s popular young wizard and his friends are back for their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry has passed a predictably miserable summer with his awful adoptive family—a holiday made all the worse by the interception of all correspondence from his school friends Ron and Hermione. To top it off, he receives an ominous visit from a house elf named Dobby. This digitally animated ascetic begs Harry not to return to school, warning that there is a plot afoot to harm or even kill the famous young wizard. But return Harry does, and discovers right away that evil is indeed lurking at Hogwarts. He repeatedly hears a sinister voice hissing, “Kill. Kill! I want blood!” Meanwhile, the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher seems more interested in his perfect hairdo than in battling corruption. Threatening messages are being written on the school walls in blood. Students are turning up literally petrified, and many think Harry’s to blame. On top of that, his life is once again endangered by strange magic at a Quidditch match. And finally, Ron’s sister Ginny (who has a huge crush on Harry) winds up in the clutches of a nasty, conniving villain.

True to form, Ron, Harry and Hermione strive to stamp out the Dark Magic in their midst. They discover that centuries before, one of the school’s founders, Salazar Slytherin, had taken a racist vow that all prospective witches and wizards who didn’t possess “pure blood” would be banished from Hogwarts. To accomplish his vendetta, Slytherin endowed the school with a secret chamber and placed in it a monster that would violently eliminate “mudbloods,” or wizards of Muggle (non-magical) lineage. Not able to carry out his holocaust himself, he ensured that his heir would one day come to Hogwarts, open the chamber and finish destroying the mudbloods. From all the nasty business going on this term, it’s clear that the time has come and the chamber has been reopened. But even Harry and his mystery-solving pals are unprepared for what they find there.

positive elements: Vanity is decried when Defense against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart is exposed for a fraud. Prejudice is likewise put down with the defeat of the chamber’s monster and its racist mission. Even though he’s a famous wizard, Harry acts with humility and kindness toward lowly house elf Dobby. Friendship and loyalty are praised as the relationship between Harry, Hermione and Ron grows. Harry’s loyalty to wise professor Dumbledore proves to be a key factor in his battle with the chamber’s monster.

Harry once again doubts his own character, upset by the fact that he has several skills in common with the Dark Lord Voldemort, who tried to kill him as a baby. But when he questions Dumbledore about almost having been placed in the dark-leaning Slytherin House, Dumbledore reminds him that the main reason he wasn’t is that he asked not to be. “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.” A good lesson about the rightful use of any talent, and how one’s character is not predetermined, but forged on a daily basis.

spiritual content: Magic, used for good or for evil, is the cornerstone of this movie. Ron and his brothers ride in a flying car. The Weasley family travels using magic dust called “floo powder.” Harry and his friends take classes in Potions, Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professors Snape and Lockhart lead their pupils in a Dueling Club, teaching them to disarm enemies with magic spells. Ron’s broken wand continually causes his spells to backfire on him. Harry hones his skills as a Parseltongue (one who can speak to snakes). In a game of Quidditch, someone curses a ball so it will chase and injure Harry. Harry and his friends spend lots of time conversing with Moaning Myrtle, the whiny ghost of a student who was murdered in the girls’ restroom. They also transform themselves temporarily into the likenesses of other students with a “polyjuice potion.” Dumbledore’s pet, Fawkes the phoenix, has healing power in his tears. [ Spoiler Warning ] Ginny is put into a trance by a villain because she has been pouring her heart out in a magical diary. Later, Harry defeats the villain because his loyalty to Dumbledore magically calls help to his side.

sexual content: None.

violent content: Far too much for a movie that will be seen by children as young as 6 or 7. Uncle Vernon falls from a second-story window. A “whomping willow” tree tries to whomp Harry and Ron to death. Harry, traveling by floo powder for the first time, accidentally winds up in a dark room with piles of shrunken heads. Harry and Ron are almost run down by a train. Filch, the school’s caretaker, threatens to kill Harry. A Quidditch match turns violent (several players are knocked from their flying brooms and Harry’s arm is badly broken). Dobby often “punishes” himself as a reminder of his subservient position. Punishments include beating himself in the head (shown) and ironing his hands (not shown). Myrtle punches Ron (of course, it doesn’t hurt him because she’s a ghost). An enormous nasty spider grabs Ron by the neck. Many smaller but equally nasty spiders menace Ron and Harry, and threaten to eat them. Ron and Harry are nearly buried in a rockslide. Ron knocks out a professor with a stone.

Most disturbing are Harry’s encounters with the chamber’s monster. First, he merely hears the beast chanting, “Kill. Kill. It’s time to kill,” and “Let me rip you. Let me tear you!” Later, he meets it (and its master) face to face. [ Spoiler Warning ] In the ensuing battle, the monster’s eyes are gouged out and Harry attacks it with a sword, only to have one of its giant fangs implanted in his forearm. The monster’s master is destroyed when Harry repeatedly stabs the magic diary that is the source of his power. Ink bubbles out of the diary, but only those familiar with the book will know that; moviegoers will think it’s blood (as if Harry were stabbing the villain himself).

crude or profane language: Ron takes a liking to the phrase, “Bloody h—!” He uses it a handful of times. Harry’s Uncle Vernon utters a muffled, “What the h— was that?”

drug and alcohol content: None.

other negative elements: Some gross-out elements are included, the most difficult to watch being an extended scene in which one of Ron’s spells backfires and he ends up vomiting live slugs into a bucket. Also, Ron’s father works for the Ministry of Magic, and his job is to ensure that wizards don’t misuse “Muggle artifacts.” In spite of that, Mr. Weasley is fascinated with Muggles and himself illegally uses many of their inventions.

A disturbing theme carried over from the first movie is disregard for rules. It could be argued that Harry and his friends are simply taking extraordinary risks justified by extraordinary danger. But the film makes it seem that Harry and company are being rewarded because they broke the rules rather than in spite of their disobedience.

conclusion: The success of the first Harry Potter movie—and the expected success of this sequel—lies in their extreme faithfulness to the books. Of course, some details are omitted so as not to make a very long movie even longer. But director Chris Columbus knew that the artistic license usually taken with movies based on books would be a recipe for disaster in the case of Harry Potter , which has made avid readers out of millions. That said, it’s no surprise that there are really no surprises here. And nothing that will change many minds. The battle lines have already been drawn regarding Harry Potter ’s treatment of magic. Those who thought it was harmless hocus pocus before will likely continue to think so. The same goes for those already convinced that it’s an instructive depiction of the occult. What will be easy for both sides to agree on is that the violence and fear-factors in this movie are quite inappropriate for the younger portion of Harry ’s intended audience. Moms and dads who wish to ward off the curse of nightmares should keep their kids out of The Chamber of Secrets.

Lindy Keffer

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After seven earlier films reaching back a decade, the Harry Potter saga comes to a solid and satisfying conclusion in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." The finale conjures up enough awe and solemnity to serve as an appropriate finale and a dramatic contrast to the lighthearted (relative) innocence of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" all those magical years ago.

Harry, Hermione and Ron are grown up now, and Harry has even grown the facial stubble required of all epic heroes. The time has come for him to face Lord Voldemort in their final showdown, and their conflict is staged in a series of special effects sequences containing power and conviction. I am still not sure what the bolts discharged by magic wands actually consist of, but never mind. They look wicked and lethal.

I dare not reveal a single crucial detail about the story itself, lest I offend the Spoiler Police, who have been on my case lately. Besides, you never know. Maybe they've completely rewritten J. K. Rowling's final book in the series. Maybe Harry dies, Voldemort is triumphant, and evil reigns.

What I can observe is that this final film is a reunion of sorts for a great many characters we've come to know over the years. So many distinguished British actors have played roles in the Potter films that those who haven't may be fitfully resentful. Here we see once again characters whose names were once new and now resonate with associations: Bellatrix Lestrange, Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore, Ollivander, Lucius Malfoy, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin and even Prof. Minerva McGonagall, who is called upon to summon her powers and shield Hogwarts School from the powers of Voldemort.

You don't want to know what happens to Hogwarts here. Many of its shining spires and noble gothic arches are reduced to ruin and ashes, providing an apocalyptic battleground. The school also seems to have mysteriously relocated adjacent to towering heights that permit vertiginous falls to the earth far below. There is no place in Britain that fits this geography, but then is Hogwarts quite in the real Britain? What is does occupy is a Britain of the imagination. The series has remained faithful to J. K. Rowling's original conception, and resisted temptations to cheapen its action or simplify its complexity. She created a fictional world with its own logic and consistency, and here at the finale, there is some satisfaction in seeing loose ends tied up, lingering mysteries explained and suspicions confirmed.

In a dreamy sequence, we are allowed to see the characters as they were in the beginning. They were so young. By spanning something like real time, the story has grown older along with them. Daniel Radcliffe , born 1989, was 11 when he first played Harry Potter, is 21 now, and he and Ron Weasley ( Rupert Grint ) and Hermione Granger ( Emma Watson ) have luckily remained recognizable and soldiered on through what involved a great deal of hard labor. Not many young actors have been worked so relentlessly for a decade.

That said, it's apparent again in this film that the three leads are upstaged by the supporting characters. Their role is to be plucky, clean-cut and stalwart. They sneak around and observe things. They eavesdrop. They speculate. They are lectured to. They endure a little low-key puberty. Harry struggles to master his magic. Meanwhile, such British legends as Maggie Smith , Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon , Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes steal scenes just by standing there. What chance does Harry or anybody have against Voldemort's smashed face with its nostril slits? Late in the film, leaving nothing to chance, Voldemort even appears as his own fetus, looking like it's been simmered in red sauce.

It is Fiennes' Voldemort who dominates this last installment, illustrating the old actors' axiom that it is better to play the villain than the hero. It takes a considerable villain to hold his own in the crumbled ruins of Hogwarts, and force the remaining students to choose between the friends of Harry or joining him on the dark side. Considering what has happened to Hogwarts, it's a little surprising that the students haven't been sent home, but then Dumbledore has had other things on his mind.

This movie is impressively staged, the dialogue is given proper weight and not hurried through, there are surprises which, in hindsight, seem fair enough, and "Harry Potter" now possesses an end that befits the most profitable series in movie history. These films will be around for a long time. And without spoiling a single thing, let me just observe that the final scene clearly leaves an opening for a sequel. I know, Rowling says there won't be one. Just sayin'.

Note: This entire movie is dark, gloomy and filled with shadows. So it should be. That makes it particularly inappropriate for the additional dimness of 3-D. There are a few shots that benefit from 3-D (I like the unfolding of the little magical globe) but none that require it. Avoid the surcharge and see the film in proper 2-D with brighter color.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images

130 minutes

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid

David Thewlis as Remus Lupin

Alan Rickman as Snape

Helena Bonham-Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Gary Oldman as Sirius Black

Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort

Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall

Michael Gambon as Dumbledore

• Steve Kloves

Directed by

• David Yates

Based on the novel by

• J.K. Rowling

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• Entertainment
• All the <i>Harry Potter</i> Movies, Ranked

All the Harry Potter Movies, Ranked

B lame ABC Family for playing Sorcerer’s Stone on repeat throughout the 2000s, but for many Millennials (and now, their children) a chill in the air demands curling up on the couch for a Harry Potter rewatch.

While millions of viewers used to take comfort in visits to Hogwarts, these days, engaging with the series can be complicated. Harry Potter taught so many about the importance of fighting against prejudice, which makes creator J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments on gender identity all the more disappointing. Even some of her most ardent fans accused her of transphobia, at which point Rowling doubled down on her exclusionary brand of feminism . Now, many fans strive to find a way to derive value from the material while rejecting its creator’s views.

Even Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who spoke out against Rowling’s anti-trans tweets, has wrestled with whether the story is irredeemably tarnished. In an open letter for the Trevor Project , he wrote, “If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe … if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual … then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that.” For many, the annual rewatch remains a tradition, albeit a fraught one.

And so, we find ourselves reassessing these adaptations, all eight of which are streaming on both Peacock and HBO Max as of Oct. 15. Typically, fans agree on favorites in a film series. Most Star Wars diehards will tell you Empire Strikes Back is great, and Phantom Menace sucks; Indiana Jones fans will assure you that none of the sequels lived up to Raiders of the Lost Ark ; and anyone who argues Dark Knight isn’t the best of the Batman movies is just trying to be contrarian. Rational minds can certainly disagree. But for the most part, every franchise has good movies and bad movies, and it’s easy to divide films into those two buckets.

The Harry Potter films prove more difficult to rank. True, the awful new Fantastic Beasts movies will easily land at the bottom of any Potter fan’s list (spoiler alert). But the older films are surprisingly solid. Look up fan polls and critics’ rankings, and you’ll find there’s no consensus view on how the original eight films compare. Some fans prefer the glee of those first movies, while others trend towards the darker entries later in the franchise. Movie fans may love the cinematography of Half-Blood Prince , while book loyalists take umbrage with director David Yates’ adaptation choices. Some critics preferred the quiet, contemplative moments spent in the forest during Deathly Hallows, Part 1 , while others favor the action-packed battles of Deathly Hallows, Part 2 .

Many fans’ views have also evolved with the passage of time. It’s easier to assess the series as a whole now that the movies have become a true cultural touchstone. And Rowling’s commentary, political views and additions to the canon will no doubt influence any critic’s perception of the films, for better or worse. Here is how we rank the Harry Potter films—at least for now.

10. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald embodies everything wrong with the continued expansion of the H arry Potter universe. The Harry Potter prequel could have explored a whole new corner of the wondrous world Rowling once built. Instead Grindelwald plays like a cash grab. Rowling’s script tries to connect just about every new character it introduces in some forced, hackneyed and occasionally racist way to the characters we know and love from the original Harry Potter films. But the revelation that one character will eventually become a snake or that another is a long-lost relative of Albus Dumbledore only muddles the canon.

Meanwhile, the one person the audience does recognize and care about—young Dumbledore, played enchantingly by Jude Law—gets the short shrift. Despite insisting in interviews that Dumbledore and the Hitler-esque wizard Gellert Grindelwald were romantically involved as teens, Rowling has never actually written that romance into any of her books or screenplays. Crimes of Grindelwald centers on a proxy battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald but only vaguely references that the two might have had a romantic relationship. Rowling’s refusal to acknowledge that these two men are queer and have a complicated history is maddening. It zaps the film of any real tension between its main hero and villain. Meanwhile, offscreen, Rowling’s insistence that Grindelwald actor Johnny Depp remain with the franchise after his ex-wife Amber Heard accused Depp of assault, was off-putting to say the least. Since then, a high court judge found that Johnny Depp was guilty of assaulting Heard , and Warner Bros. finally parted ways with the actor . Still, the ill-fated series will soldier on.

Read More: Just Cancel the Fantastic Beasts Franchise Already

Stream on Amazon .

9. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was Rowling’s first screenplay, and it shows. If you squint, there’s a good movie within Fantastic Beasts about the rise of fascism in the Wizarding World in the 1920s. Unfortunately, studios have to sell stuffed animals. So Fantastic Beasts wraps its dark Grindelwald origin story inside a movie about a dorky magical creature enthusiast (Eddie Redmayne) scurrying across 1920s New York City trying to round up adorable critters. The platypus-esque Nifflers are, undeniably, cute, and the other CGI creatures are quite impressive. But the bipolar movie never quite ties the two plots together.

There’s hope that Rowling could rectify this issue in future films. One of Rowling’s best talents is actually intricate plotting—the early Harry Potter books and their adaptations would often weave plots together to make a more cohesive whole. The author would patiently plant the seeds of a plot point in an early novel that would then bloom in the later books to stunning effect. Perhaps it’s unfair to judge Fantastic Beasts on just the first two entries (the studio intends to produce five films). But so far the franchise has failed to cast a spell over its audience.

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Let me be clear: There is a giant chasm between Chamber of Secrets and the Fantastic Beast films. While Chamber may rank low on this list, it’s still a delightful time at Hogwarts. Hermione turns into a cat person! Harry and Ron fly in a car! Kenneth Branagh pokes fun at his own public persona as a narcissist! Sure, child actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint haven’t quite yet mastered their acting skills. But they’re pretty cute.

And yet, the movie clocks in at 160 minutes, far too long for one of the shorter and, let’s be honest, lesser Harry Potter books. The pace of the film is, at times, agonizingly slow. Like Sorcerer’s Stone , Chris Columbus’ Chamber is slavishly dedicated to the book—except for the bizarre moment when Lucius Malfoy attempts to use the killing curse “avada kedavra” on Harry in the middle of a Hogwarts hallway. (Apparently Lucius Malfoy actor Jason Isaacs improvised the line and had forgotten the actual meaning of the curse.) In transcribing the work rather than adapting it, Columbus undercuts a sense of discovery that is essential to the Potter stories.

7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Though it’s probably the truest book-to-movie adaptation, the Sorcerer’s Stone , with its Matilda- esque tone, doesn’t live up to the power of the rest of the series. In retrospect, the CGI is clunky, and the one-liners are too cute by half. Still, Christopher Columbus was also able to capture, well, the magic of that first introduction into Hogwarts. As soon as those owls begin to invade the Dursley’s neighborhood, the Wizarding World suddenly seemed more accessible than it ever did on the page.

At the time of its premiere, Sorcerer’s success was no guarantee. Throughout the 2000s, fantasy adaptations like The Golden Compass and Eragon flopped at the box office. But Columbus’ movies managed to do right by the books: Hogwarts awed; quidditch looked exactly as fans had imagined it; and the school uniforms became instantly iconic. Columbus’ team also made some fantastic casting decisions that would pay off years later, like recruiting Alan Rickman to play Severus Snape and Maggie Smith to tackle Minerva McGonagall. And they found a trio of child actors who would, over the next decade, hold their own in scenes with some of England’s most talented thespians.

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Ah, Deathly Hallows, Part 1 : perhaps the most divisive movie in the franchise. How do you feel about watching three teenagers bicker in the forest for a few hours? What if two of those characters take a dance break seemingly designed to enrage or tantalize fans, depending on which characters you ship?

There are things to adore in this movie, like the breathtaking animation of the “Tale of the Three Brothers.” And director David Yates does beautifully capture the frustrations of Harry’s Horcrux mission. The scenes in which Harry, Ron and Hermione aimlessly walk through empty fields and abandoned parking lots, a fuzzy voice on the radio rattling off the names of the dead as they wander capture the book perfectly.

But Part 1 spends very little time during those quiet conversations exploring who Dumbledore was and his connection to the Deathly Hallows, three magical tools that are crucial to the final fight in the following film. That may seem like nerdy nitpicking. But good genre fiction distinguishes itself from bad genre fiction by imbuing its McGuffins with actual meaning. If Harry doesn’t have a personal connection to the Elderwand through Dumbledore, then he’s just chasing some meaningless shiny object. Such scenes also could have given the audience more time with Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, who shines in Part 2 as one of the greatest onscreen villains of all time.

5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Book fans tend to criticize the Half-Blood Prince adaptation because it leaves out crucial details about Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) and why he decides to create the Horcruxes. As a result, the burden falls upon the already plot-heavy sequels to communicate the importance of these magical objects. It’s frustrating to watch Harry hunt down and destroy parts of Tom Riddle’s soul like he’s stumbling across random Bosses in a video game when Rowling gave each Horcrux a meaningful backstory in the books that rendered Voldemort a more complex character.

More than any other movie, Half-Blood Prince seems to miss the point of the books. Take the pivotal scene in which Snape kills Dumbledore. Although Harry’s single defining trait as a character is his willingness to rush rashly and headlong into danger for his loved ones, the movie-version of Harry stands by and does nothing while Dumbledore is murdered. In the book, Dumbledore has put Harry under a spell that prevents him from moving to interfere with Snape—a detail skipped over in the movie. Exacerbating matters is Michael Gambon’s performance as Dumbledore, which comes across as cold and commanding rather than gentle and eccentric.

Still, the cinematography in Half-Blood Prince is fantastic. Yates signals the transition to a grimmer story by rendering Hogwarts as darker and more empty than in previous films. It’s arguably the most aesthetically beautiful of all the movies. And many critics have praised the slower pace of the film, which spends less time on Quidditch and magical battles and more time on character relationships than its predecessors.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is all action. As soon as the movie begins, Harry, Ron and Hermione are breaking into Gringotts, riding on the back of a dragon and, finally, battling Voldemort. That’s not always a good thing: The audience is barely given a moment to breathe and consider the consequences of this final battle. Book readers will certainly miss some of the quieter moments of reflection, particularly between Harry and Dumbledore at King’s Cross Station after Harry dies.

But the film is able to pull off several crucial moments of character development amid the chaos, including Neville’s evolution into a bold hero, Ron and Hermione’s first kiss and Molly Weasley’s epic defeat of Bellatrix LeStrange. To that end, the film plays like a somber but satisfying reunion. Deathly Hallows Part 1, and even to some extent Half-Blood Prince, are films about loneliness and isolation. Some of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter series are missing entirely from those movies. When Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts, we get to enjoy Rowling’s wide array of Dickensian characters once again.

And the movie more than makes up for any elided conversations with the emotional punch of Alan Rickman’s performance as Snape. The series’ finale hinges on Rickman’s ability to sell the audience on the idea that his love for Harry’s mother Lily was so strong that he took on the impossible job of playing double agent. And while the books are told almost entirely from Harry’s perspective, Yates wisely chooses to offer his audience Snape’s point of view: He begins the film with shot of Snape gazing over Hogwarts and pauses to linger on Snape’s face as he dies weeping in Harry’s arms. In those two moments, elevates the story from a battle between good and evil to one of a complicated man’s struggle to cling to the power of love in the face of hatred.

3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

It’s unfortunate the movie version of Goblet of Fire doesn’t fall at the top of the heap when the book version ranks #1 or #2 for many Potter fans. But director Mike Newell made some irksome choices that diverge wildly from the original text, including, notoriously, Dumbledore screaming at Harry, “Did you put your name in the goblet of fire?!?” a line that Dumbledore uttered “calmly” in the book. Worse still, Goblet is at its heart a mystery novel, but the adaptation undercuts the whodunnit at the center of the story—who did put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire?—by showing the culprit in the very first scene .

That said, it’s pretty hard to screw up Rowling’s best story. Goblet breaks from the formula of the last three books, centering the action around the Triwizard Tournament instead of the normal events school year. The three terrifying tasks are a joy to behold, and the angst-producing Yule Ball plays host to some of the most fraught—and delicious—teen drama in the series.

The movie also successfully balances the fun of the tournament with the gravity of Cedric’s death, a major turning point in the franchise. A young Robert Pattinson proves his star power in the small but consequential role. And as Cedric’s father mourns over his body, even non-readers realize the story is about to transform from a boarding school romp into a deadly battle between tolerance and prejudice. Plus, Ralph Fiennes’ inaugural performance as He Who Must Not Be Named is appropriately terrifying and wonderful.

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The book Order of the Phoenix often gets knocked for its preoccupation with hormonal teenagers’ mood swings. But that’s the brilliance of the story. Our heroes are hormonal teenagers who make bad decisions based on impulse. The book does force readers to spend a lot of time inside Harry’s head when he’s at his most angry. The movie actually spares the audience this unpleasantness. Because of medium, we only see Harry’s external reactions, and Radcliffe smartly chooses to play Harry as defeated and depressed, a decision that engenders sympathy rather than alienating the audience. Harry only shares his darkest fears about something evil burgeoning inside him in intimate scenes with his godfather Sirius, which makes Sirius’ sudden and surprising death at the end of the film all the more painful.

Other things that recommend Order of the Phoenix: Quieter conversations that plumb the characters’ emotional depths; nightmare-inducing performances by two of the series’ best late-game villains, Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix and Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge; and no quidditch, a game that was getting deadly boring by the second film. But the best part of this movie is the epic final showdown in the Department of Mysteries between Dumbledore and Voldemort. That battle—the only one we get to see between the two greatest wizards in history—takes plenty of license but does so in the best way possible. The clash of fire and water and transformation of glass into sand encapsulate the power of film adapation.

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

It’s no surprise that Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón directed the best of the Harry Potter flicks. Some might call Prisoner of Azkaban more “adult” than the first two movies. And while we’re of the philosophy that anyone can enjoy and appreciate Harry Potter , it’s certainly fair to say that Cuarón made a more atmospheric movie. He clearly has a talent for working with child actors: The director allowed them to style their school uniforms however they liked, adding a realistic and lived-in feeling to the film. His eye for detail also brings Hogwarts truly to life for the first time, from the candles that look like spinal columns floating in Professor Lupin’s classroom to the reimagined Whomping Willow, which marks the passage of time by huffily shaking off its leaves in autumn.

There are a few choices to quibble with: Deciding not to film a flashback scene featuring Harry’s father and his friends prowling the Hogwarts grounds as Animagi (wizards who can transform into animals) was a missed opportunity. And Cuarón may have unwittingly given away Snape’s allegiance when he directed Alan Rickman to throw his arms across Harry and his friends to protect them from a werewolf, an impulsive act of selflessness that seemed uncharacteristic for the snarling professor. And the Time Turners introduce thousands of questions and plot holes. But all those choices serve a final time traveling sequence that, with the giant clock ticking away in the background, is pitch perfect.

Correction, Nov. 3

The original version of this story misstated when the movies The Golden Compass and Eragon premiered. They debuted after The Sorcerer’s Stone film was released, not before.

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Harry potter and the deathly hallows: part 2, common sense media reviewers.

Spectacularly epic, poignant end to a magical series.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

As with all of the Harry Potter movies, there are

Harry, Hermione, Ron, their Hogwarts friends, the

Hermione plays an integral role working with Harry

This is by far the deadliest of the eight Potter f

After seven movies, Ron and Hermione finally kiss

Molly Weasley's famous line: "Not my daughter, you

There's no product placement in the movie, but Har

Parents need to know that the epic finale of the Harry Potter movie saga (all based on the books by J.K. Rowling), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 , is the deadliest, most intense, and most touching installment of the lot. Because the majority of the movie is an all-out battle between…

Positive Messages

As with all of the Harry Potter movies, there are many positive messages, including the idea that every hero needs help to defeat evil; that everyone has a choice to do what's right, even if it's not easy; that some battles are greater than one person; that friends stand by each other until the end; and so much more. And the Forbidden Forest sequence demonstrates how those we love always live on in our hearts, even after they're dead.

Positive Role Models

Harry, Hermione, Ron, their Hogwarts friends, the Order of the Phoenix, and most of Hogwarts' professors are all positive role models -- they work together to fight Voldemort and his army, demonstrating teamwork, perseverance, and courage. As the titular hero, Harry is willing to sacrifice his life to save the wizarding world, but so is everyone who fights on his side, including some characters who surprise us with their bravery. Dumbledore's spirit returns to remind us once more that it's the choices we make that make all the difference. Different characters' choices illustrate selflessness, unexpected conscience, finding the courage to express love, and the idea that people aren't always what they seem.

Diverse Representations

Hermione plays an integral role working with Harry and Ron to defeat Lord Voldemort. Female witches of all ages join the battle against the Death Eaters, including Luna, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Professor McGonagall. Narcissa Malfoy shows just how far a mother will go to protect her child. The main trio's return to Hogwarts means more visibility for characters of color, including Cho Chang, Padma Patil, Dean Thomas, and Blaise Zabini. Kingsley Shacklebolt, a Black member of the Order, also shows up. Otherwise, the main cast is predominantly White. Griphook, along with the other goblins at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, unfortunately embodies anti-Semitic tropes. He and Professor Flitwick are played by the same actor, who was born with the condition spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenital (SED), which caused his dwarfism.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

This is by far the deadliest of the eight Potter films, with the highest body count and many upsetting deaths. Because the movie depicts the Battle of Hogwarts, the death toll is in the hundreds, including some favorite supporting characters. Their bodies are shown (eyes open, unmoving). The Gringotts break-in not only destroys the bank but also sparks bloody retribution from Voldemort (dead goblins are shown sprawled out). The Killing Curse is used, an evil snake kills an important character in a pretty gory scene with multiple bites and body slams, and a bully is enveloped in fire. Some bodies seem to disintegrate or burst. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and their friends face Death Eaters, Dementors, giants, huge spiders -- the whole of You Know Who's army. In one ethereal scene, the remains of a body are depicted as a gruesome newborn-like creature. Harry willingly faces death at one point in the movie.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

After seven movies, Ron and Hermione finally kiss -- as well as hold hands, embrace, and protect/comfort each other in a romantic manner. A married couple holds hands before a battle. Harry and Ginny share a brief kiss, and one character proclaims his intent to tell a girl he fancies her, since they might be dead in a few hours.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Molly Weasley's famous line: "Not my daughter, you bitch!" is included verbatim, and a few characters (mostly Ron) say British slang like "bloody hell," "prat," and "numpty."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

There's no product placement in the movie, but Harry Potter-related merchandise is a huge money maker for Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the epic finale of the Harry Potter movie saga (all based on the books by J.K. Rowling), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 , is the deadliest, most intense, and most touching installment of the lot. Because the majority of the movie is an all-out battle between Lord Voldemort ( Ralph Fiennes ) and his army against Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe ) and his allies at Hogwarts, there's an extremely high body count -- including the deaths of several beloved supporting characters. Most happen off camera, but several bodies are shown. In a few scenes, everyone is bloodied and injured or dead, and it's brutal to watch (a shot of dead goblins is particularly gruesome, and one character's death at the fangs of an evil snake gets pretty gory). Despite the raging battle, Ron ( Rupert Grint ) and Hermione ( Emma Watson ) at last find a moment to snog and spend most of the movie holding on to each other; Harry and Ginny ( Bonnie Wright ) also share a quick kiss. And in the end, it's not the violence that viewers will take away, but the idea that every hero, no matter how brave, needs loyal friends to defeat evil and that love lives on even in the face of death. Themes include courage , perseverance , and teamwork . To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (92)
• Kids say (467)

Based on 92 parent reviews

Role Models? Not a chance.

What's the story.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2 begins when we last saw Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe ), Ron ( Rupert Grint ), and Hermione ( Emma Watson ) convalescing at Shell Cottage after Dobby died rescuing them from certain death at Malfoy Manor. Harry enlists injured goblin Griphook ( Warwick Davis ) to help them break into Bellatrix Lestrange's ( Helena Bonham Carter ) vault at Gringotts in search of more missing horcruxes. But after a death-defying escape, Harry realizes that they must return to Hogwarts to find the final items they seek. With aid from Aberforth Dumbledore ( Ciarán Hinds ) and Neville Longbottom ( Matthew Lewis ), who's assembled all of their friends, the central trio goes back to a Death Eater-run Hogwarts, now led by Headmaster Severus Snape ( Alan Rickman ). Lord Voldemort ( Ralph Fiennes ) declares all-out war on Harry, whom he's desperate to kill before Harry can destroy all of the remaining horcruxes and render him mortal again. Thus begins the climactic Battle of Hogwarts, in which Harry makes life-changing discoveries, while his friends take up wands to help him save the wizarding world.

Is It Any Good?

Director David Yates has been at the helm of the Harry Potter series since the fifth film, and he sends it off with a spectacular finish. He switches from Part 1 's sparse, atmospheric tone to a relentlessly intense war film in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 . Grint and Watson add some much-needed levity with their sweet romantic overtures, but while they're off fighting Death Eaters hand-in-hand, it's Radcliffe's big moment to propel the action to Harry's final confrontation with Voldemort. Also shining brightly are Lewis' Neville, who, after years of being the class wallflower, proves just how brave a Gryffindor he is, and Kelly Macdonald , who plays a ghost with fiery intensity. Rickman gets his best scenes ever in a series of flashbacks that explore his true nature, and Maggie Smith is surprisingly gleeful as Professor McGonagall in warrior mode.

For once, Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves' adaptation could have been even longer to properly represent crucial moments like Molly Weasley ( Julie Walters ) taking on Bellatrix Lestrange, or Ron and Hermione finally admitting their feelings through a kiss (neither scene is quite as heart-stopping in the film as on the page). Other sequences, like Harry's momentous walk in the Forbidden Forest, the Weasley family convening in grief, a look through Snape's memories, and even the controversial-to-readers epilogue, are all handled quite beautifully -- poignant moments of the heart to punctuate the nonstop action of the battle. Much of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is either a tearjerker or an epic battle scene -- sparks flying, wizards dueling, creatures crushing each other. It all builds up to a last indelible shot ... one that reminds us while all may be well, it's sad to know that the Harry Potter series has ended.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about whether Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is age-appropriate for young kids, even if they've already read the books or are familiar with the characters. How does the tone and subject matter of the series change over time?

Which characters reveal different parts of themselves in this movie? Why did they make the choices they made? How do those decisions affect Harry?

How does the development of Ron and Hermione's relationship contrast to most other teen love stories? Is a slow-burning romance as believable or exciting to watch as love at first sight?

Did the final movie live up to your expectations? Are there any other book sagas you'd be as excited to see turned into movies, or do you think it's unlikely another franchise would hold as much magical appeal?

How do the characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 demonstrate perseverance , teamwork , and courage ? Why are those important character strengths?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 15, 2011
• On DVD or streaming : November 11, 2011
• Cast : Alan Rickman , Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint
• Director : David Yates
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 130 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images
• Last updated : September 29, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Review

The franchise ends with harry, ron and hermione facing off against voldemort in spectacular fashion..

4 out of 5 Stars, 8/10 Score

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'Hallows' Part 2 Works Like A Patronus Charm

David Edelstein

Hallowed Ground: Hermione (Emma Watson), Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron (Rupert Grint) prepare to meet their destinies at Hogwarts. After eight films, billions of dollars and appearances from seemingly every British thespian, the Harry Potter series has rarely felt so resonant as in its final chapter. Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Brothers hide caption

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2

• Director: David Yates
• Genre: Fantasy
• Running Time: 130 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images

With: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter

Watch Clips

'What Do You Know'

Credit: Warner Brothers

'Chamber Of Secrets'

'Came To Die'

Harry Potter. After a decade of saying it, I might never have cause to say it again. Harry Potter. Dum-ble-dore. Vol-de-mort. Snape. Her-mi-oh-nee.

No, it's not as momentous a day as the one in 2007, when lunatics the world over queued up at midnight to buy the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. OK, I was one of 'em but it was Friday, I didn't have to get up the next morning. And along with millions I had to know who lived and who got Avada Kedavra'ed as Potter-ites say. We had a lot invested.

The opening midnight screenings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 were completely sold out, even though most people knew the ending. They wanted closure. J.K. Rowling, good as she is, isn't a prose stylist: The films put interesting faces to names and fabulous designs to humdrum descriptions. In the novel, the climactic wand-off between Harry and Voldemort is notably lacking in grandeur. Here's a case where movies can add a bit of magic.

We also need a final look at Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione and Rupert Grint as Ron. We met them when they were little and watched them go through puberty and have their first snogs. Then Radcliffe went naked in Equus on Broadway and Watson went to Brown and dropped out and became a fashion plate.

Is this the little boy at Hogwarts?

So many years. So many top-flight British actors showing up for teeny scenes and making enough to buy country estates.

Now, finally, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 , the last book split in half by a studio terrified of losing a franchise, with the result that Part 1 felt padded.

But Part 2 works like a charm.

Not a charming charm: It's somber, weighty, funereal — a war film, with blood and rubble under low, gray English skies. Before Harry faces off against the monster who murdered his parents, he, Ron and Hermione — fugitives now — track down the last horcruxes, pieces of Voldemort's soul injected into sundry objects. Trouble is, Harry and his nemesis have a telepathic link — which Harry senses as he and his friends emerge, wet and shivering, from a river.

Ralph Fiennes flexes his lizard wizard tongue one last time as the evil Lord Voldemort. Warner Brothers hide caption

Ralph Fiennes flexes his lizard wizard tongue one last time as the evil Lord Voldemort.

"He knows if we find and destroy all the horcruxes, we'll be able to kill him," says Harry. "I reckon he'll stop at nothing to make sure we don't find the rest. And there's more — one of them's at Hogwarts." "What? You saw it?" asks Hermione. "I saw the castle and Rowena Ravenclaw. It must have something to do with her," says Harry. "We have to go there now." "Well, we can't do that — we've got to plan. We've got to figure it out," says Hermione. "Hermione," says Harry. "When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there — all hell breaks loose."

That's the only self-conscious joke in the series — which reminds me to tip my cap to Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the eight Potter films and evidently had his own telepathic link with J.K. I hope he goes back to making movies as original as his film The Fabulous Baker Boys .

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In which we don't quite get to the horcrux of it.

The director of movies 5 through 8, David Yates, goes for deep-toned Gothic horror, which doesn't make for highs and lows but a steady aura of doom. Deathly Hallows — Part 2 features his and cinematographer Eduardo Serra's most expressive work, which you don't need to see in 3-D to be awed by. The climax is fully realized: the blitzkrieg-like attack on Hogwarts, the revelatory flashback involving the past of Alan Rickman's Professor Snape, and the final duel, rich in mythic splendor.

Goodbye to Ralph Fiennes's Voldemort, who slowly evolved from primordial slime but stopped at the reptile stage and is here like a drug-addled rock star in his final days, surrounded by sycophants like Helena Bonham Carter in a fright wig. Goodbye to Rickman, who conveys Snape's tortured soul by inserting supernaturally longer pauses between syllables. Goodbye to Maggie Smith and all those royal bit players. The young actor I'll miss most is Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, with her queerly fluted monotone. Spin her off, J.K.?

Is shame the key to the whole Potter series? We see Harry prove himself over and over and still wind up an outcast, a victim of his birth and even his own celebrity. Will there be no end to his humiliation? There will. You exhale at the close of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 as you do at Dickens. There is family, acceptance, and social justice. The kids are all right — and their creator is richer than the queen.

More From Forbes

Every harry potter movie in order.

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The Harry Potter franchise has captured imaginations for decades now, and will likely continue to do ... [+] so.

Harry Potter Books

Harry potter movies in order of release, harry potter movies in chronological order, the fantastic beasts movies, new harry potter movies.

Ever since the first Harry Potter film apparated into theaters back in 2001, the hidden sights and wonders of the Wizarding World have captured imaginations at a scale few other franchises have ever dreamt of seeing. And it’s not hard to see why this film and book series is so popular. The story features lovable characters who are challenged through mysteries that intrigue us at every turn across settings so lovingly rebuilt from the novels that inspired them.

So, maybe you’re looking to step back into the warm nostalgia of watching these films in your youth. Or perhaps you’re new to the franchise and are now wondering which of the many films come before the other. So below, let’s explore the story of the famous boy who lived by stepping through the Harry Potter movies in order.

The eight Harry Potter films are adapted from seven Harry Potter fantasy novels. The first of these, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , hit bookshelves in 1997. From there, each sequel followed one-to-three years after, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finishing the story by 2007.

While some fans decry the differences between the books and films, the movies do largely remain faithful to their source material. All seven books are written by author J.K. Rowling who, largely due to the success of Harry Potter, is frequently listed among the highest paid authors in the world . However, more recently, her public comments regarding the transgender community have raised controversy and concern, with some fans struggling with the implications of all this on their love for the Harry Potter franchise. Apart from the Wizarding World though, Rowling also writes other works, including her crime fiction series Cormoran Strike , which she publishes under the name Robert Galbraith.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

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Unlike with some film franchises, the Harry Potter films progress through time linearly. In other words, the chronological and release orders here are the same. However, as the films do not come with numbered titles letting you know which comes after which, below we’ll list out, in further detail, how to watch them in order.

All eight movies are currently streaming on both Max and Peacock.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone internationally) (2001)

The new, young cast of Harry Potter poses for a photo in 2000.

The first film is directed by Chris Columbus (of Home Alone fame) and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Harry Melling, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Hart and Alan Rickman. The film captured the imaginations of children and families from the start and remains a favorite today, holding an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes .

The grand story begins when Harry Potter, an unassuming orphan living with his abusive aunt and uncle, learns from the friendly Hagrid that not only is he a wizard, but also that time has come to begin his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, overseen by Headmaster Dumbledore. But then Harry also learns that he, as an infant, defeated Voldemort when the evil wizard’s curse rebounded back onto him and thereby ended his reign. But now, as Harry befriends students Ron and Hermione, the trio grow suspicious that one of their professors seeks to steal the sorcerer’s stone in order to bring Voldemort back to power. And so, the friends investigate to try and thwart a dark end.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

The trio encounter mysterious attacks at Hogwarts this year, carried out by a hidden enemy.

Director Chris Columbus returns for the immediate sequel in a movie starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Toby Jones, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton, Jason Isaacs and Kenneth Branagh. The film was praised as a strong sequel that kept the magic going, and sits above its predecessor at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes .

In this tonally darker entry, the events begin when the house elf Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts. But when Harry does anyway, a series of mysterious attacks unfold on a handful of the castle’s inhabitants, along with a message that the rumored Chamber of Secrets, said to house a deadly beast within the school, had been re-opened by a secret enemy. So, the trio get to work again to solve this mystery, concocting potions, stepping into a magical memory and ultimately coming face to face with a sliver of Voldemort himself.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Director Alfonso Cuarón steps into the franchise to give it his definitive style, an aesthetic that ... [+] inspired much of the films to come.

Then, celebrated auteur Alfonso Cuarón came on board to direct the series’ third entry in a film starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall. It is the second highest rated film in the series on Rotten Tomatoes with a 90% score .

When Harry returns this time to Hogwarts, he learns that the criminal Sirius Black, who helped Voldemort murder Harry’s parents years ago, has escaped prison and is now coming to kill Harry. Meanwhile Professor Lupin, an old friend of Harry’s father, joins the school and helps Harry learn some powerful magic. Ultimately all parties collide at the Shrieking Shack where Harry and his allies come face to face with a foe they never could have expected. And then they resort to a solution that sends them hurling back in time.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

The Tri-Wizard Tournament brings challenging new dangers into Harry's life.

Director Mike Newell steps in to lead the show this time for Harry’s fourth adventure, with stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, David Tennant, Robert Pattinson, Katie Leung, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon and Brendan Gleeson. The film was met well by audiences and critics alike and sits at an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes .

This year, Professor Dumbledore proudly announces that Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a competition between representatives of three wizarding schools in various magical tasks. However when Harry, to his bewilderment, is somehow chosen as the fourth competitor, all know that something untoward is going on. While the students of the three schools clumsily interact through the dramas of teenage life, the new professor Alastor Moody coaches Harry through the competition. However, the final task then transports Harry to somewhere unexpected, and then leads him to battle a powerful old foe.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

The war for the Wizarding World begins in secret now during Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts.

David Yates comes on board to direct Harry’s fifth adventure in the Wizarding World. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Evanna Lynch, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was again critically well received, currently holding a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes .

In the fifth film Harry learns that, despite his witnessing Voldemort’s return, the Ministry of Magic is downplaying his claims. So the secret Order of the Phoenix, populated by several trusted adults in Harry’s life, convenes to respond. Meanwhile, the Ministry appoints Dolores Umbridge to Hogwarts, who quickly takes control of the school and suppresses Harry and Dumbledore. So, in response, the students form Dumbledore’s Army, led by Harry, to prepare against Voldemort. But then, a dark vision in Harry’s mind leads him to bring the Army and the Order to the Department of Mysteries, where both teams face the enemies they find there.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

This entry sees Malfoy secretly carrying out some dark task.

David Yates returns for the sixth entry in a film starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Alan Rickman, Jessie Cave and Tom Felton. The film was very well received and sits at an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes . Notably, this entry was also the most expensive in the franchise.

During Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, as Voldemort’s hold over the Wizarding World grows stronger, Harry becomes suspicious of his rival Malfoy as he appears to be aiming for some twisted goal. Later, Harry finds an old Potions textbook with scribbled notes from a mysterious “Half-Blood Prince” which helps him excel in class. During all this, though, Dumbledore also enlists Harry in convincing the new Potions professor, Slughorn, to reveal the contents of a disquieting conversation he once had with a young Voldemort. But then, unexpected enemies arrive before Harry and Dumbledore both, and this time there appears no way out alive.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)

The close to the story begins in part one of the seventh book's adaptation.

David Yates returns to direct the first part of a two-part finale. The movie stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Toby Jones. The film was met well and holds a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes . However, that is the lowest score in the series.

When our heroes receive news that Voldemort has overtaken the Ministry, and when Death Eaters attack Ron’s brother’s wedding, Harry, Ron and Hermione barely escape. They then, having learned of the magical horcruxes which keep Voldemort powerful, set out on a mission to find and destroy them. During this, they also learn about the Deathly Hallows, powerful objects that make one the master of death, including the Elder Wand which Voldemort is desperately seeking. Throughout this journey the trio face and evade many threats, while Voldemort remains looming above them.

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

The epic fantasy tale comes to its conclusion.

And David Yates returns to direct as we close out the series. This final movie stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton and Matthew Lewis. The film also generally has the best reviews of the franchise, boasting an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes .

Picking up immediately after the events of the prior film, the story here sees the trio continue their search for horcruxes, ultimately leading them back into a Hogwarts now largely controlled by Voldemort’s loyalists. However, as the trio successfully face more of the horcruxes in the castle, Voldemort’s army, as well as the villain himself, rush the grounds to thwart them. But then, Harry receives a memory from someone he thought was an enemy, one that reveals the truth behind many things. All these events then lead to a final confrontation for the fate of the Wizarding World.

The Fantastic Beasts film tell us the story of Newt Scamander, his animals, and another dark wizard ... [+] of the past.

The above eight films make up the official Harry Potter series. However, as fans know, Warner Brothers and J.K. Rowling then went on to release a few more films which, while they don’t have book equivalents in the same way, are intended to share a universe with the other eight movies.

These are known as the Fantastic Beasts films, set about seventy years before young Harry Potter arrived at Hogwarts. These newer movies center protagonist Newt Scamander, a magizoologist expert in all things involving magical creatures. The three entries in this film series, by order of both release and chronology, are below.

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

However, if you’d like to watch all eight Harry Potter films and the three Fantastic Beasts films together in chronological order, we will need to take one small step away from the release timeline. That is, to watch all eleven films in order, you’d just need to begin with the three Fantastic Beasts movies, and then start the Harry Potter films from the top right after. This order, while deviating from the release timeline, accurately allows you to walk through the history of the Wizarding World.

Are there any confirmed, upcoming Harry Potter films that will let us step back into this Wizarding World? Unfortunately, at present the answer to that is no. The Fantastic Beasts films were indeed at one point said to be aiming for a five film arc, but this appears to no longer be the plan .

For now, we’ll have to wait for news of new films in this franchise. However, there are some upcoming projects once we move away from the world of film.

Harry Potter Max TV Show

Warner Brothers has confirmed they are developing a Harry Potter TV series on Max, aiming for a 2026 premiere . The series is planned to release over a 10 year period, and Succession writer Francesca Gardiner is reportedly in the lead for handling the show’s creative direction. There is presently no confirmed casting, but we know J.K. Rowling will serve as executive producer.

With much more run time available, the series is promising to offer greater accuracy to the books and more details from them that the movies were not able to include. But we should also note that, because this is being described as a complete reboot retelling Harry Potter’s story from day one and bringing in a new cast, this series would not share a canon or universe with the films mentioned above. That means, while this show may be exciting for fans of the franchise, it would not belong in any chronological watch order with the currently released films.

Hogwarts Legacy Video Game

The "Hogwarts Legacy" video game has quickly become an international sensation.

Then there is the video game Hogwarts Legacy , which takes place in the 1800s. The game released in 2023, became the best selling game of the year and has earned its place among the best selling games of all time. So, it has quickly become a must-experience project for fans of the Wizarding World.

However, despite its accuracy to the extant lore, the game also does not appear to officially share a canon with the books, movies, or the upcoming TV show. This would mean, as with the upcoming TV series, the game would not belong in any order with the currently existing films.

However, given the project’s immense success, a sequel is now rumored to be on the way, one that would likely share a canon with the first game.

Bottom Line

The eight Harry Potter films released across a decade as a whole generation grew up along with the young wizard. Many viewers began watching as children and delighted in seeing Harry grow older and wiser each year in the face of greater and greater challenges, an experience that should feel familiar to most. For that reason, and for the magical imagination so lovingly on display, the Harry Potter world has become a warm place of retreat for many. And so the films are waiting to be experienced, in the order above, whenever you wish to step back in.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: movie review

Eight films and $2 billion later, a poignant send-off for 'the boy who lived.'

• By Peter Rainer

July 14, 2011

With the appearance of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," it has finally sunk in for a lot of people that Harry won't be having any new adventures, although at the film's recent London première, J.K. Rowling sent a crowd of enthusiasts into a froth by saying "never say never."

The collective emotion arising from the last installment of the "Harry Potter" franchise, after eight films and a record-setting $2 billion at the box office (so far), is a sense of loss. Even for those of us who have not found the films transcendent, there is some regret. The films' rampaging innocence and invention seem worlds apart in quality from most of what passes these days as family entertainment.

The movies, closely following Rowling's books, and all but one expertly scripted by Steve Kloves , have grown inexorably darker since the series began in 2001 with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Harry's odyssey, which ends in "Part 2" with the inevitable showdown between Daniel Radcliffe 's Harry and Ralph Fiennes 's nose-challenged Lord Voldemort , was always pitched as a battle royal between the forces of light and dark. For many of their young enthusiasts, the books and movies probably represented, for the first time on the page or on screen, a true reckoning with the forces of death and sacrifice (although death, in the "Potter" universe, is often a transitory state). This is a big reason why the films (which are not so much adaptations of the novels as they are emanations of them) have become very personal affairs for their fans.

This intense attachment, of course, is not, in itself, a signifier of quality. The "Lord of the Rings" franchise inspired a similar cultishness, but that was OK. Those films were mostly very good. The "Star Wars" franchise, however, long ago lost its luster, if not its fanatical following, after an interminable run of awful sequels and prequels. As examples of fantasy filmmaking, as opposed to relics of worship, the "Harry Potter" movies do not, except in snatches, have the lyrical wonderfulness and visionary power that I associate with the finest examples of childhood imaginings on film – the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki (" Spirited Away "), for example, or "The Black Stallion" or "The Red Balloon" or Alfonso Cuarón 's "A Little Princess." With the exception of the third installment, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ," directed by Cuarón, the films have ranged from workmanlike (the first two, both directed by Chris Columbus ) to highly accomplished, especially the two "Deathly Hallows" films, directed by David Yates .

The special effects have almost always been powerfully elegant, none more so than in "Deathly Hallows 2," where a trip to a wizard bank turns into a supernal roller coaster ride inside a cavernous vault where heaps of jewels and gold multiply voluminously, insanely. We are presented with the nightmarish image of Hogwarts as a black and brutal expanse presided over by hovering Death Eaters and a cruelly imperious Severus Snape ( Alan Rickman , in a brief performance of genuine depth).

"Deathly Hallows 2" also brings back, if only fitfully, many of the wonderful British character actors who have flitted in and out of the series, including Gary Oldman as Sirius Black , Jim Broadbent as potions professor Horace Slughorn , and Maggie Smith , whose Professor Minerva McGonagall crisply defends Hogwarts against Voldemort's looming hordes.

It has always been one of the hallmarks of this series that even when the plotting, especially for those unversed in the books, resembled a brambly thicket, and the cinematic magicmaking was more overloaded than inspired, the acting served up by this ongoing parade of hall of fame hams carried the day.

The acting by the three mainstays – Radcliffe, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Emma Watson as Hermione – was never up to that level, but it was entirely adequate to the roles' demands. "Deathly Hallows 2" is, in any case, primarily Harry's story, and so Grint and Watson are relatively sidelined. Ron and Hermione do, however, get to kiss for the first time – an indication of just how dire things have become for them.

It is not often that we can chart a series over 10 years featuring the same child stars as they grow into adults. This phenomenon gives "Deathly Hallows 2" a particular poignancy, since audiences will likely look at these young actors and see themselves growing old as well.

But I don't bemoan the end of the series. It has run its course.

The filmmakers may have felt this, too. The climactic dramatic resolution is not overdone, like the multiple endings in the final installment of "Lord of the Rings," and the brief coda that takes the story into the future appears almost as an afterthought. This understatement, especially given what has come before, is pleasing, and it's also a token of respect for the series' devoted, longtime audience. The filmmakers are saying, "We've all grown up with this together and we know how much this story means to us. No need to make a big show of it now."

• Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Reviews

I like the work that director David Yates has done with the Harry Potter franchise. He doesn’t have a playful way with visuals or a gift for spectacle, but he understands the character and invests in their relationships and their evolution.

Full Review | Jan 6, 2024

The filmmakers have created something spectacular, not only with this final sequel but with the entire series.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 11, 2023

It's a satisfying conclusion to a great franchise.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2022

Easily the best of the series...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 13, 2022

The new locations are vast and mind-boggling, the sets beautifully decorated and detailed, and the creatures more impressively monstrous.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 30, 2020

There are so many moments, big and small, that leave you breathless.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 10, 2020

An epic showdown in gorgeous 3D, packing an emotional punch, this cast and crew should take their final bow with pride before their devoted fans.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 29, 2019

[The film] ends the series so beautifully, and shows such reverence for the books that inspired and affected them so deeply.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2019

Good film directed for a teenage audience in which not only is magic taught but also how stereotypes affect it while the film itself recreates some British stereotypes. [Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 11, 2019

Yates strikes a pitch-perfect balance between rousing action, pathos, tenderness and even humor.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 8, 2019

This final chapter of the beloved franchise is a satisfying end to the series, even if it falls short of the promise teased in its slightly superior predecessor.

Full Review | May 7, 2019

It's true it is very different from the book... Nevertheless, I like this movie. I think it ends the series in a very satisfying way.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Apr 4, 2019

I was impressed with the incredible amount of edge-of-your-seat action, the brilliant ways in which they worked the 3D F/X in, and just the way the whole thing came together.

Full Review | Mar 5, 2019

To those who have loved this journey throughout, it seems a perfect last look at this magical world with a human heart.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Feb 13, 2019

"Words are the most powerful magic," Dumbledore says in this film. But words must be spoken by people, and the incredible cast assembled here make magic one last time for what will surely be an appreciative audience.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 8, 2019

David Yates finally gives us the Harry Potter film we have been waiting for; a beautifully shot, incredibly loyal final chapter that mixes heartfelt emotion, strong performances and miraculous action.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 13, 2018

Like the very best fairy tales, Harry Potter offers us a burning vision of our own world, with goodness and evil helpfully labeled.

Full Review | May 23, 2018

The effects and acting are top notch, with a vast cast providing well-developed background characters.

Full Review | Mar 22, 2018

The danger is seething as both sides battle between extravagant set pieces and eye-catching special effects.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jan 26, 2018

Deathly Hallows part 2 struck all the right notes of action, adventure, friendship, courage and love.

Full Review | Oct 24, 2017

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

• User Reviews
• Snape's and Voldemort's characters were played quite well.
• Throughout the series, Snape has been rather emotionless and monotonous. But, in the pensieve, we see a refreshingly new emotional side of him.
• Gringott's scene was nicely shown.
• They added the scene where Hermione & Ron destroy Hufflepuff's cup.
• They show the future (19 years later) scene. I thought it would be cut.
• My Biggest Disappointment - Snape's Memories. They showed the whole thing within a minute. They're some of the most interesting & touching scenes of the story. They just rushed through it, even excluding many of the memories.
• Fred's death. They don't even show it. Then later it was ridiculous to see Mrs. Weasley angry at Bellatrix when the latter was fighting Ginny.
• The battle was too short and didn't the magnitude and impact as in the book, with Centaurs, Goblins/Kreecher, Hagrid/Spiders, Ghosts, etc.
• They don't show the Common Rooms. I always imagined it while reading the books. But I badly wanted to see them in the movie.
• They don't show Harry using the Cruciatus Curse on the one of the Carrows.
• They wasted time in Nagini's chase.
• They don't mention about Teddy Lupin and that Harry was his Godfather. They don't mention the names of Harry's other two kids.
• No mention about the significance of the horcruxes.
• No mention of Bloody Baron and his link with Ravenclaw's diadem.
• No mention about how the Invisibility Cloak came into the possession of the Potters, how Harry and Voldemort are related through the Peverell brothers.
• They don't show how Dumbledore communicated with Snape after he died.
• Harry doesn't even mend is wand. He directly snaps the Elder Wand into two pieces...
• In the future scene, all the funny and cheerful dialogues are excluded. Everyone's just smiling and staring at each other. And moreover, none of the them seemed in their late thirties. Didn't the film-makers have enough money to hire good make-up artists.
• Dumbledore's Story. He's my most favourite character in the book. There's nothing about him in the movie. They just say he had secrets (what secrets??). They don't even tell the story of Dumbledore sister, Ariana. They don't show him getting emotional at King's Cross.
• The use of ridiculous one-liners and humourless jokes when the situation is so intense and sad.
• Harry & Voldemort had their final fight in the middle of nowhere. No one was even around to watch it. (In the book, they were in the middle of the whole crowd.)
• Bellatrix and Voldemort die bursting into confetti!
• Neville. He was perfectly perfect. I really wish they gave him more screen time because he was adorable.
• The Gringott's scene. Very well done.
• The emotion we are shown from Snape. Throughout the series, he's been rather monotonous and emotionless. In the pensieve, we see a different side of him and it is a refreshing change.
• The battle at Hogwarts. It was intense and wonderfully done.
• Helena Ravenclaw. It was very emotional and creepy. Although they did not tell us her back story with the Bloody Baron.
• Rupert Grint and Dan Radcliffe shirtless. That's certainly a plus.
• They completely took out the scene where Harry and Luna go into the Ravenclaw Common Room, where they are ambushed by one of the Carrows. It appeared as if they would show it, as I hope they would (I've always wanted to see the other common rooms), but then they don't. Hm.
• Fred's death scene. Gone. Yup. They show his body once at the end and don't even give you time to grieve before moving on to the next scene. This was an insult to his character's memory.
• Crabbe's disappeared. Gets replaced by Zabini, and replaced in a different way by Goyle.
• Snape's memories are rushed and they take out some of the most interesting memories. They just go through a few of them quickly. I've always enjoyed the memories, because you get to see life at Hogwarts through the eyes of someone else for a change, in a different time era.
• Hermione and Ron battle Nagini, and eventually Neville slays the snake. Eventually. It takes some time getting to that scene.
• There is not a single mention of Teddy Lupin. That is, until the end when Harry suddenly knows about Lupin's son. Weird, considering Harry was camping in a forest and hadn't heard of any of this.
• Collin Creevey is replaced by that random Nigel kid.
• The students are not sent home. No, the teachers think it's OK to just lock the Slytherins in the dungeons and let everybody else stay and fight.
• Still no mention of the significance of the horcruxes. Hufflepuff's cup is just a plain old cup that Voldy turned into a horcrux.
• Not enough interaction with characters other than the trio. Too much Harry. It's as if everybody else just have cameos.
• Random scene where they blow up one of the bridges (ignoring the fact that there are like 2 other bridges that would take them into the school).
• Voldemort's and Bellatrix's death = explosion into confetti!
• Percy's on the good side all of a sudden. No explanation at all (a reoccurring theme with Yates, don't you think?).
• Harry does not fix his old wand with the Elder Wand. No, instead he takes the Elder Wand and SNAPS IT IN HALF. Is that even possible? I didn't think so. So Harry breaks the wand and then chucks it into the abyss. Really Yates, really?
• All of the fun and cheerful dialogue from the future scene has been resorted to everybody staring and smiling at each other. No explanation once again. They don't even say who's who! Plus there is absolutely no chemistry between Dan and Albus Severus. And it was really awkward to see them all with old make up on.
• Goodbye Dumbledore's back story!
• Too many attempts at one-liners and humorless jokes.

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What We Know So Far About the New Harry Potter TV Series

Less than 15 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 , a reboot is on its way.

There aren’t many details about the series available just yet, but here’s a quick breakdown.

What is the new Harry Potter series about?

If you’ve watched the original film series, then you already know. Zaslav has promised that the reboot will be a faithful adaptation of the seven books in Rowling’s series—meaning it will tell the exact same story as the movies.

Here’s how Max is describing the series: “The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”

Who will be in the cast?

We haven’t the faintest idea! All we know is that it will be “new,” meaning—thankfully—Radcliffe and friends won’t be expected to undergo any CGI de-aging.

In late January 2024, Warner Bros. TV Group chairman Channing Dungey told Variety of the casting process, “The first step for us is figuring out who this showrunner is going to be and once we get that locked down, then we can start having those [casting] conversations. The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12.”

Now that the series found a showrunner in Francesca Gardiner, finding the actors to fill the roles is likely the next order of business.

While fans would love to see the original members make a cameo in the remake, Radcliffe told ComicBook.com in July 2023 that he won’t be pursuing an opportunity to be in the show.

“My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” he said. “So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.”

Who is on the creative team?

Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, who each have worked on Succession , were enlisted for the new series, Variety  reported in June 2024. They are both serving as executive producers, along with Rowling, Fantastic Beasts ’ Neil Blair, Brontë Film and TV’s Ruth Kenley-Letts, and David Heyman of Heyday Films. Gardiner will also be the writer and showrunner, while Mylod is set to direct some episodes.

When does it come out?

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reportedly revealed that the Harry Potter series is slated to be released in 2026, according to Deadline . An exact date has yet to be announced .

What is the controversy around the new Harry Potter TV series?

Without digging too deep into the Discourse™️, we can summarize two main reasons why some audiences aren’t convinced a Harry Potter reboot is, shall we say, necessary :

One is that Rowling will be involved not only as the source material’s creator but as an executive producer, meaning she’ll have a sizable degree of creative control over the reboot. That’s not good news for fans who consider her brand of trans-exclusionary feminism to be a rot spreading through an otherwise beloved franchise.

The second is that the story is far from new, nor is it particularly old. Harry Potter is practically inescapable in modern life: Whether it’s his books or his films or his merchandise or his theme parks or his exhibits or his video games, the boy with the lightning bolt scar is astoundingly difficult to avoid. A certain air of exhaustion (not to mention anger) has permeated even the most devoted corners of the Wizarding World fanbase. What more can really be squeezed out of not just the same franchise, but the same story?

Addressing the conversation around Rowling herself in a presentation timed to the series’ announcement, Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content, had only this to add: “J.K. is an executive producer, and her insights will be helpful. We are in the Harry Potter business. The TV show is new and exciting, but we’ve been in the Harry Potter business for 20 years; this isn’t a new decision. We’re comfortable being in the Potter business. J.K. is a very online conversation … it’s very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into. Our priority is what’s onscreen. The Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive about love and acceptance, and that’s our priority, what’s on the screen.”

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Bankrupt redbox parent chicken soup for the soul entertainment installs new ceo and board of directors, ‘harry potter’ & ‘welcome to derry’ moving from max to hbo as part of big-budget streaming strategy rethink.

By Peter White

Peter White

Executive Editor, Television

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Don’t expect many big-budget tentpole scripted series originating at Max .

Warner Bros. Discovery is changing its strategy when it comes to big-budget series and titles such as the upcoming Harry Potter series and IT prequel Welcome to Derry will no longer be Max Originals but will instead be HBO Originals.

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Green Lantern series Lanterns is also part of this strategy shakeup after being handed a series order at HBO today.

RELATED: Green Lantern Series ‘Lanterns’ From Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof & Tom King Moves From Max To HBO With Series Order

Obviously the likes of Harry Potter and Welcome to Derry will air on Max day and date with their linear debuts, but the move doesn’t shout confidence in scripted streaming originals for the David Zaslav-run company.

At the launch of the rebranded Max service in April 2023, where it confirmed series such as Harry Potter , Zaslav declared, “This is a real moment for us … This is our time. This is our chance, and everything is possible,” he said. “I feel like, for our company, this is our rendezvous with destiny.”

After axing its unscripted division in 2022, it appears that Max won’t be the original home for big-budget scripted series moving forward either.

RELATED: All The ‘Harry Potter’ Movies In Order – Photo Gallery

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