UPDATED WITH DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2
As you may know, Harry Potter is my favorite book series in the world. I have read each book at least 5 times (the first few at least 10 times), and I have seen the movies at least twice (the first few at least 5 or 6 times). They bring you to a world that, like Star Wars, makes you wonder if it’s actually out there. I will be reviewing all 7 books, all 8 movies, and 5 of the 8 current video games (I haven’t played Prisoner of Azkaban or Deathly Hallows). I will do this in chronological order, so Sorcerer’s stone book, movie, video game, then Chamber of Secrets and so on and so forth.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Book: 9/10
It actually took me a while to read this book once I got it. I heard about the Harry Potter craze going around when I was in 6th grade. So I got the book and tried to read it, but the first chapter bored me. Who cared about those Dursley people? Where’s Harry Potter? Oh yeah, there he is! (After I read into the 2nd and 3rd chapters). The book that started it all is still a very good read.
Movie: 9/10
Chris Columbus did a fantastic job with this one. Out of all the HP movies, it is easily the most family-friendly and heart-warming. Not all of the books are like that, so the movies weren’t, either. My only problem with this movie is what they removed (The potions logic challenge) and changed (Voldemort’s “soul” passing through Harry, causing him to pass out)
Video Game: 8/10
Really a pretty great game, the graphics for the time aren’t bad. The controls were iffy and some of the things you had to do were either pointless, mundane, or too difficult (Fire seeds for Hagrid, sneaking by Filch)
Overall: 8.5
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Book: 8/10
This book, to me, is just another good addition. Good, not great. I enjoyed it, yes, but I wasn’t extremely wowed by it. I didn’t finish it feeling like it was an amazing book. Harry battling a basilisk and winning is highly unlikely, seeing as its eyes alone are lethal weapons. Don’t get me wrong, I do like CoS, but it just didn’t hit it out of the park for me.
Movie: 8.5/10
Just a hair notch down from its predecessor, because as we all know, sequels have a tough time living up to the expectations set by their prequels. They portrayed the Polyjuice Potion scene very well, as well as the scenes in the chamber. Even though I’m not a huge fan of changes, I did like how Harry had to be quiet as the basilisk got inches away from him. (But then again, how did it not smell him there?)
Video Game: 7.5/10
This game was only ok. What bugs me the most is when I get hit by something and I lose health and beans. It can get quite irksome and stressful. I love the free roam in this game though—being able to fly around Hogwarts is amazing—and buying things from the Weasley twins.
Overall: 8/10
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Book: 9.5/10
The first time I read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I could not put it down. It introduces so many things, the Marauders (including Sirius, Lupin, and Wormtail), Hogsmeade, and dementors. I love reading this book each time. I can’t quite give it a 10 because I still get angered whenever I read Wormtail got away. How could JKR let that happen?
Movie: 7/10
They sort of dropped the ball with this one. It wasn’t a complete botch, but it was nowhere near the quality film it could have been. I could complain about the changes, but instead I’ll mention the bad acting (Radcliffe and Watson were pretty bad, and Gambon didn’t do Dumbledore well AT ALL), and the unnecessary inclusion of the Whomping Willow transition scenes. There’s a reason POA director Alfonso Cuaron didn’t direct another, one of only 2 directors to direct only one film.
Video Game: 8/10
Just got the game (in 2012) and beat it. It's got good control, graphics, you name it. Being able to play as either of the trio was a plus. The free roam was also cool. The story went by too fast though, but at least there's plenty to do to FULLY complete the game.
Overall: 8/10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Book: 8/10
I really enjoy reading GoF, but the reason for only the 8 was just the whole Triwizard Tournament and how Harry HAS to compete just because his name comes out of a magical goblet. I thought these people were magic? Couldn’t they just undo that? The whole premise for this book is built on a semi-plothole. Other than that, the book is amazing, and the three tasks are described so well, I was completely captivated the entire time.
Movie: 6.5/10
I hate to give it such a bad rating, but this is what it deserves. The first task was changed because they felt JKR’s version was too boring. They changed the third task just for the heck of it. They didn’t even care about including any house elves, including Dobby and Winky. Frankly, they changed way too dang much (even more than PoA), and the acting still was somewhat bad, although slightly better. That is why Mike Newell was the other director to only get one shot.
Video Game: 8/10
Some really great graphics and being able to play as either Harry, Ron, or Hermione was great. In the past, you could only play as Harry. However, the one knock for this game is that you have to collect a certain amount of “Triwizard Shields” to move onto the next scene, which I think is ridiculous. If you complete a part, you should be able to move onto the next part without having to collect stupid shields.
Overall: 7.5/10
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Book: 8.5/10
I love OotP, I love how it introduces Grimmauld Place, the Order, and many new characters. However, it is extremely long. Also, Harry’s time at Hogwarts is miserable, making it almost not that fun to read. The climax towards the end was brilliant, however, and I think JKR wrote the death scene really well.
Movie: 8/10
They got the essence of the book and didn’t make TOO many drastic or noticeable changes. If you just read the OotP book once and watch the movie a year later, you won’t notice many changes, and that’s surprising, seeing how OotP is the longest book, yet the shortest movie. It’s a decent film that is probably the most average Harry Potter film out of the series.
Video Game: 8.5/10
Brilliant graphics, great depictions of scenes, and including the actors’ voices made this game a fun one to play. However, having to play Gobstones, Exploding Snap, and *dear me* wizard’s chess (yes, an actual game of chess) to get achievements for the Xbox put me off. However, it is a free roam game, which I love.
Overall: 8.5/10
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Book: 9.5/10
This book is insanely good! I read it in just over 2 days when I first got it. The mystery, the romance, the action, the history on Tom Riddle, just everything was very well done by JKR. This was the perfect transition book going into the final book in the series. I can’t give it a 10 because of the way Ron and Hermione acted towards each other—it didn’t seem like they could ever like like each other.
Movie: 8.5/10
Pretty much as good as I could expect. David Yates is improving, as are the three young actors who play the trio. The cave scene was well depicted. Michael Gambon was actually really good this time as Dumbledore. I wish they had included more on the Gaunts history, but I understand why it wasn’t included.
Video Game: 9/10
Great graphics yet again, great reenactments of certain scenes, and collecting the wizard crests was actually fun. The things I don’t like, however, are how Hermione looks (that looks nothing like Emma Watson!), the repetitive dueling, and in the climax, you got to do very little. However, they designed dueling pretty well, and the inclusion of playing Quidditch whenever I want is another bonus.
Overall: 9/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
Book: 9.5/10
Based on the first half of the book alone, I give it a 9.5/10. Very well written and it kept me hooked the entire time. I just couldn’t find it in me to give it a perfect 10. I think the thing was that they spent way too much time on the run looking for Horcruxes, just the three (and sometimes two) of them.
Movie: 9/10
I was very pleasantly surprised with this, Yates just keeps getting better. The HP films went from great to only ok back to great again. They conveyed the trio on the run very well. I had a few complaints: the dance scene, Wormtail not dying (yet), Ron not crying for Hermione, and Harry not being in disguise for the wedding. Other than that, great film and I was impressed.
Video Game: N/A
Ok, I only have the Wii version, and I have played very little of it, so I don’t feel I should give it a rating quite yet. I can say, however, that it has horrible controls, poor graphics, and the dueling was not well-designed. Then again, it’s only the Wii version I’ve played. If I had to give the Wii version a rating, I’d give it a 6/10. But I think I’ll wait until I get the Xbox version to decide if the DH video game is any good.
Overall: 9.5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Book: 9.5/10
JK Rowling closed up the series perfectly. I love how it ended, but I felt too many good characters died, like Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin Creevey, etc. I would have given this a perfect 10, but I was a bit dissatisfied with the epilogue. A little cheesy and a little predictable. But what a great way to cap off my favorite book series ever.
Movie: 9/10
I can't give this any higher, but I still think they did a great job. I definitely found this film the most emotional, action-packed and intense of all the films, which is good. However, I have to dock a point for having this film with the most differences from the book since Goblet of Fire.
Video Game: 9.5/10
What can I say? This was very well done. The Gringotts battle, the battles at Hogwarts, getting to play as Neville, Seamus, and Luna... I couldn't have asked for more.
Sorcerer’s Stone: 8.5
Chamber of Secrets: 8
Prisoner of Azkaban: 8
Goblet of Fire: 7.5
Order of the Phoenix: 8.5
Half-Blood Prince: 9
Deathly Hallows, Part 1: 9.5
Deathly Hallows, Part 2: 9.5
Not too many surprises there, from my perspective. I really enjoy the later installments, as I have not read/seen/played them a lot. Sure, there were a lot of differences between the movies and books, but if you look at each series separately they are both really great series.
As you may know, Harry Potter is my favorite book series in the world. I have read each book at least 5 times (the first few at least 10 times), and I have seen the movies at least twice (the first few at least 5 or 6 times). They bring you to a world that, like Star Wars, makes you wonder if it’s actually out there. I will be reviewing all 7 books, all 8 movies, and 5 of the 8 current video games (I haven’t played Prisoner of Azkaban or Deathly Hallows). I will do this in chronological order, so Sorcerer’s stone book, movie, video game, then Chamber of Secrets and so on and so forth.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Book: 9/10
It actually took me a while to read this book once I got it. I heard about the Harry Potter craze going around when I was in 6th grade. So I got the book and tried to read it, but the first chapter bored me. Who cared about those Dursley people? Where’s Harry Potter? Oh yeah, there he is! (After I read into the 2nd and 3rd chapters). The book that started it all is still a very good read.
Movie: 9/10
Chris Columbus did a fantastic job with this one. Out of all the HP movies, it is easily the most family-friendly and heart-warming. Not all of the books are like that, so the movies weren’t, either. My only problem with this movie is what they removed (The potions logic challenge) and changed (Voldemort’s “soul” passing through Harry, causing him to pass out)
Video Game: 8/10
Really a pretty great game, the graphics for the time aren’t bad. The controls were iffy and some of the things you had to do were either pointless, mundane, or too difficult (Fire seeds for Hagrid, sneaking by Filch)
Overall: 8.5
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Book: 8/10
This book, to me, is just another good addition. Good, not great. I enjoyed it, yes, but I wasn’t extremely wowed by it. I didn’t finish it feeling like it was an amazing book. Harry battling a basilisk and winning is highly unlikely, seeing as its eyes alone are lethal weapons. Don’t get me wrong, I do like CoS, but it just didn’t hit it out of the park for me.
Movie: 8.5/10
Just a hair notch down from its predecessor, because as we all know, sequels have a tough time living up to the expectations set by their prequels. They portrayed the Polyjuice Potion scene very well, as well as the scenes in the chamber. Even though I’m not a huge fan of changes, I did like how Harry had to be quiet as the basilisk got inches away from him. (But then again, how did it not smell him there?)
Video Game: 7.5/10
This game was only ok. What bugs me the most is when I get hit by something and I lose health and beans. It can get quite irksome and stressful. I love the free roam in this game though—being able to fly around Hogwarts is amazing—and buying things from the Weasley twins.
Overall: 8/10
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Book: 9.5/10
The first time I read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I could not put it down. It introduces so many things, the Marauders (including Sirius, Lupin, and Wormtail), Hogsmeade, and dementors. I love reading this book each time. I can’t quite give it a 10 because I still get angered whenever I read Wormtail got away. How could JKR let that happen?
Movie: 7/10
They sort of dropped the ball with this one. It wasn’t a complete botch, but it was nowhere near the quality film it could have been. I could complain about the changes, but instead I’ll mention the bad acting (Radcliffe and Watson were pretty bad, and Gambon didn’t do Dumbledore well AT ALL), and the unnecessary inclusion of the Whomping Willow transition scenes. There’s a reason POA director Alfonso Cuaron didn’t direct another, one of only 2 directors to direct only one film.
Video Game: 8/10
Just got the game (in 2012) and beat it. It's got good control, graphics, you name it. Being able to play as either of the trio was a plus. The free roam was also cool. The story went by too fast though, but at least there's plenty to do to FULLY complete the game.
Overall: 8/10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Book: 8/10
I really enjoy reading GoF, but the reason for only the 8 was just the whole Triwizard Tournament and how Harry HAS to compete just because his name comes out of a magical goblet. I thought these people were magic? Couldn’t they just undo that? The whole premise for this book is built on a semi-plothole. Other than that, the book is amazing, and the three tasks are described so well, I was completely captivated the entire time.
Movie: 6.5/10
I hate to give it such a bad rating, but this is what it deserves. The first task was changed because they felt JKR’s version was too boring. They changed the third task just for the heck of it. They didn’t even care about including any house elves, including Dobby and Winky. Frankly, they changed way too dang much (even more than PoA), and the acting still was somewhat bad, although slightly better. That is why Mike Newell was the other director to only get one shot.
Video Game: 8/10
Some really great graphics and being able to play as either Harry, Ron, or Hermione was great. In the past, you could only play as Harry. However, the one knock for this game is that you have to collect a certain amount of “Triwizard Shields” to move onto the next scene, which I think is ridiculous. If you complete a part, you should be able to move onto the next part without having to collect stupid shields.
Overall: 7.5/10
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Book: 8.5/10
I love OotP, I love how it introduces Grimmauld Place, the Order, and many new characters. However, it is extremely long. Also, Harry’s time at Hogwarts is miserable, making it almost not that fun to read. The climax towards the end was brilliant, however, and I think JKR wrote the death scene really well.
Movie: 8/10
They got the essence of the book and didn’t make TOO many drastic or noticeable changes. If you just read the OotP book once and watch the movie a year later, you won’t notice many changes, and that’s surprising, seeing how OotP is the longest book, yet the shortest movie. It’s a decent film that is probably the most average Harry Potter film out of the series.
Video Game: 8.5/10
Brilliant graphics, great depictions of scenes, and including the actors’ voices made this game a fun one to play. However, having to play Gobstones, Exploding Snap, and *dear me* wizard’s chess (yes, an actual game of chess) to get achievements for the Xbox put me off. However, it is a free roam game, which I love.
Overall: 8.5/10
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Book: 9.5/10
This book is insanely good! I read it in just over 2 days when I first got it. The mystery, the romance, the action, the history on Tom Riddle, just everything was very well done by JKR. This was the perfect transition book going into the final book in the series. I can’t give it a 10 because of the way Ron and Hermione acted towards each other—it didn’t seem like they could ever like like each other.
Movie: 8.5/10
Pretty much as good as I could expect. David Yates is improving, as are the three young actors who play the trio. The cave scene was well depicted. Michael Gambon was actually really good this time as Dumbledore. I wish they had included more on the Gaunts history, but I understand why it wasn’t included.
Video Game: 9/10
Great graphics yet again, great reenactments of certain scenes, and collecting the wizard crests was actually fun. The things I don’t like, however, are how Hermione looks (that looks nothing like Emma Watson!), the repetitive dueling, and in the climax, you got to do very little. However, they designed dueling pretty well, and the inclusion of playing Quidditch whenever I want is another bonus.
Overall: 9/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
Book: 9.5/10
Based on the first half of the book alone, I give it a 9.5/10. Very well written and it kept me hooked the entire time. I just couldn’t find it in me to give it a perfect 10. I think the thing was that they spent way too much time on the run looking for Horcruxes, just the three (and sometimes two) of them.
Movie: 9/10
I was very pleasantly surprised with this, Yates just keeps getting better. The HP films went from great to only ok back to great again. They conveyed the trio on the run very well. I had a few complaints: the dance scene, Wormtail not dying (yet), Ron not crying for Hermione, and Harry not being in disguise for the wedding. Other than that, great film and I was impressed.
Video Game: N/A
Ok, I only have the Wii version, and I have played very little of it, so I don’t feel I should give it a rating quite yet. I can say, however, that it has horrible controls, poor graphics, and the dueling was not well-designed. Then again, it’s only the Wii version I’ve played. If I had to give the Wii version a rating, I’d give it a 6/10. But I think I’ll wait until I get the Xbox version to decide if the DH video game is any good.
Overall: 9.5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Book: 9.5/10
JK Rowling closed up the series perfectly. I love how it ended, but I felt too many good characters died, like Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin Creevey, etc. I would have given this a perfect 10, but I was a bit dissatisfied with the epilogue. A little cheesy and a little predictable. But what a great way to cap off my favorite book series ever.
Movie: 9/10
I can't give this any higher, but I still think they did a great job. I definitely found this film the most emotional, action-packed and intense of all the films, which is good. However, I have to dock a point for having this film with the most differences from the book since Goblet of Fire.
Video Game: 9.5/10
What can I say? This was very well done. The Gringotts battle, the battles at Hogwarts, getting to play as Neville, Seamus, and Luna... I couldn't have asked for more.
Sorcerer’s Stone: 8.5
Chamber of Secrets: 8
Prisoner of Azkaban: 8
Goblet of Fire: 7.5
Order of the Phoenix: 8.5
Half-Blood Prince: 9
Deathly Hallows, Part 1: 9.5
Deathly Hallows, Part 2: 9.5
Not too many surprises there, from my perspective. I really enjoy the later installments, as I have not read/seen/played them a lot. Sure, there were a lot of differences between the movies and books, but if you look at each series separately they are both really great series.
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