By Maui R. Drilon
We all squirmed in delight in our seats when the first scene of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stoneflashed on the movie screen: finally, we were seeing real-life Hagrid, real-life Hedwig, and oh my God, Harry Potter really does look like the Harry Potter we had in our heads!
Of course, as the next few films rolled by, we saw our beloved books come to life—and you have to admit, there were some moments that were so much better than others. After all, rarely does a movie match up to the book it was adapted from, and we've had a lot of hits and misses when it comes to J.K. Rowling's multi-millionaire dollar baby.
So in honor of the last installment of the Harry Potter franchise, we're taking a look back at the best and worst moments in the past few ones. Here's hoping we'll have more of the "best" when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 comes out on July 14!
BEST
First Quidditch match in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Do you remember watching the first ever Quidditch match? It was like the World Cup for Potter geeks: the costumes, the brooms, and oh my gosh was that the golden snitch?! The rendering of the game was such a visual treat that it was easy to forget that Quidditch was just a made-up game. Of course, it was also hard to follow the game, what with the quick camera pans and cuts. Nevertheless, it brought life to a rather complex sport that we only tried to imagine in our heads—'til we saw it on screen.
The Weasley Twins bid adieu to Hogwarts in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The Weasley twins were graduating the same time the evil Dolores Umbridge brought her draconian reign to Hogwarts. So what better way to say goodbye to their alma matter than play a prank on Umbridge's? The twins terrorize a bewildered Umbridge by unleashing a bevy of colorful fireworks in the middle of the students' O.W.L. exams, finally giving authority the ultimate middle finger.
Hermione punches Draco, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." She may be a girl, and she may be a nerd, but Hermione's sporting jeans now, dammit, so pay her some respect! Despite her hesitation to cast a spell on Draco after he and his friends made fun of the execution of the Hippogriff Buckbeak, Hermione instead introduces her fist to his face.
Introduction of the Dementors, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." The Harry Potter franchise finally leapt off the kiddy-film train and started to become dark and serious when the dementors made their debut. It started with the boney, dark fingers gripping the edge of a windowsill—and we actually felt the chill when they floated on screen. For once we were actually scared for our little wizards and witches, whenever we'd see these grim reapers chase them.
WORST
Harry Potter kisses Cho Chang in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".
So Harry's had a crush on Cho for the longest time but held out because she was dating Cedric Diggory. But now that Cedric's been murdered by Voldemort, he got his game together and…planted a really sorry one on Cho. Seriously Harry, we know you haven't really had much practice (or any, for that matter), but you've been waiting for this moment for the longest time, and the passion was justnot there. Maybe if it happened during a major battle or something that involved snakes, he'd show a little more gusto.
Dobby, as first seen in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." We don't know if it's Daniel Radcliffe's lack of experience working with a green screen or if it's because Dobby's just downright annoying, but, well, there you go…Dobby was just downright annoying. His voice was screech-y, like fingernails on a chalkboard, and while Rowling intended for Dobby to be a nuisance, subjecting a movie audience to more than two minutes of him screaming about how Harry was in danger was torture. We're glad he toned it down in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1…where he eventually dies, anyway. 
The Troll in the Dungeon, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." We know it's kind of a kiddy movie, but really, they could have done a better job at generating and rendering a more believable-troll. There are monsters in video games that look more believable than this one, and what's with the "wand-in-the-nose" deal? Just because they were first-years doesn't mean their fights with baddies had to be "funny". Thankfully, that was the last of the troll.
Harry screaming "He was their friend!" in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."Talk about bad acting. When Ron and Hermione find Harry supposedly sobbing in the snow over Sirius Black allegedly betraying his parents, Harry starts screaming "He was their friend!", followed by the threat that if Sirius gets caught, he'll kill him. So what makes the scene so painfully awful? The fact that Harry was supposed to be crying, but, well, Daniel Radcliffe just couldn't pull it off. Sure, he tried to put a tremble in his voice…but that was about it.
