Based on JK Rowling's insanely popular books and going on to become the highest-grossing movie series in history, Harry Potter was a cultural phenomenon the likes of which Hollywood hadn't witnessed since Star Wars. Eight big-budget fantasy epics shot over the course of a decade, the end result is not just the most lucrative, but also one of the greatest movie franchises of all time. The unique appeal of the franchise is based around the epic telling of a singular story rather than the merits of each standalone story, and while the quality of the series was consistently high, none of the eight Harry Potter movies manage to stand on their own as a five-star movie. Chris Columbus' first two installments are generally regarded as the weakest, although the director did a great job in both world-building and establishing the aesthetic of the series. Given the nature of the source material several of the movies felt like nothing more than placeholders and did little in the way of advancing the overall narrative, but did deliver plenty of stunning production design, impressive visual effects and some thrilling set-pieces. Alfonso Cuaron's Prisoner of Azkaban is often lauded as the franchise's best effort and strikes the right balance between emotion and spectacle, with the director's darker and more mature take on the material greatly influencing the rest of the adaptations. However, it is run close by Deathly Hallows Part 2, David Yates' comfort and familiarity with the material resulting in a spectacular concluding chapter. As a whole, the Harry Potter franchise is one of cinema's greatest achievements, despite the fact that none of the eight movies can individually be regarded as a classic.
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