Metrics
Genre:
Fantasy, Coming-of-age
Rating:
8.0 /10
Audience:
Fantasy fans. Kids.
Rewatch Time:
2h20, but the plot is great, and you're invested throughout. Maybe once in two months.
Winner:
Remus Lupin (David Thewlis)
Review
Probably the best one out of the 8 movies, if it's possible to rank them. This one utilizes Harry's backstory to the absolute maximum, bringing back characters with such an emotional stake in his life that the plot actually seems like it might affect his development. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson) were hitting their stride as actors in this movie, Daniel in particular, and I think Draco (Tom Felton) played a really important comedic role. The adults were obviously more prolific; Michael Gambon's Dumbledore was probably at his best in his debut here, while Snape (Alan Rickman), Sirius (Gary Oldman), and Remus were all phenomenal near the end. Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and Buckbeak's storyline wasn't the most exciting, but it worked really well with the plot in the end. The DADA class remains one of the best scenes overall, and of course the Patronus scene was probably the most iconic Harry Potter scene ever.
Spoiler Territory
Well everyone's already seen this, but I'm sure the twist with Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) being Scabbers and the real traitor was pretty shocking at the time. The reunion between Sirius and Remus is great to watch, as are both of their reactions to Harry (recognizing his eyes, etc.). I think the Marauders storyline is one of the absolute best parts of Harry Potter, and this movie utilizes it the most out of any of them. Hogsmeade, the Marauders' Map, everything was pretty well done. Ron was pretty annoying in this one though, even if that scene with them eating the beans was cool. Marge was awful (rightly so) and the Knight Bus scene was pretty random, I guess. Dementors were definitely on point.