1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Sorcerer's Stone
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Deathly Hallows Part 1
6. Deathly Hallows Part 2
7. Order of the Phoenix
8. Half-Blood Prince
I like the two Columbus films more than most. Their visuals are not as imaginative as Azkaban's, but their substance and physicality make up for it, both of which I think get worse as the series goes on as it becomes more CGI-reliant and thus weightless. Hogwarts never feels so big or magical in Stone and Chamber as it does in any of the other movies perhaps except for Goblet. There's also John Williams' scores, which feature the best, most memorable music in the series. It's not just the aesthetics that put them high on the list, though: I like the performances Columbus gets out of the child cast. He's not a great director, but if he's good at anything, it's at directing children if these movies, Home Alone and The Goonies are of any indication. Plus, I also prefer Harris's Dumbledore to Gambon's.
Why do I like Half-Blood Prince the least? It's the least substantial entry, if anything. Yes, I know something very important happens in it, but it still doesn't seem like there's enough "there" there to base a feature film around. It also has a lot of cringe, such as how unpleasantly odd Radcliffe's acting is while in "lucky" mode, and Broadbent's interpretation of Slughorn - one of my favorite teachers in all the books - is disappointing and not how I imagined the character at all. It's also the least aesthetically-pleasing movie. Your mileage may vary, but I'm not the biggest fan of Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography in it.
2. Sorcerer's Stone
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Deathly Hallows Part 1
6. Deathly Hallows Part 2
7. Order of the Phoenix
8. Half-Blood Prince
I like the two Columbus films more than most. Their visuals are not as imaginative as Azkaban's, but their substance and physicality make up for it, both of which I think get worse as the series goes on as it becomes more CGI-reliant and thus weightless. Hogwarts never feels so big or magical in Stone and Chamber as it does in any of the other movies perhaps except for Goblet. There's also John Williams' scores, which feature the best, most memorable music in the series. It's not just the aesthetics that put them high on the list, though: I like the performances Columbus gets out of the child cast. He's not a great director, but if he's good at anything, it's at directing children if these movies, Home Alone and The Goonies are of any indication. Plus, I also prefer Harris's Dumbledore to Gambon's.
Why do I like Half-Blood Prince the least? It's the least substantial entry, if anything. Yes, I know something very important happens in it, but it still doesn't seem like there's enough "there" there to base a feature film around. It also has a lot of cringe, such as how unpleasantly odd Radcliffe's acting is while in "lucky" mode, and Broadbent's interpretation of Slughorn - one of my favorite teachers in all the books - is disappointing and not how I imagined the character at all. It's also the least aesthetically-pleasing movie. Your mileage may vary, but I'm not the biggest fan of Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography in it.