The Worst Harry Potter Director, According to Reddit
Reddit is known for its large number of different communities. Users from all over the world gather daily in various subreddits to share their experiences, opinions, and knowledge. Of course, r/harrypotter is one of the busiest on the site and the debate about who is the worst director of the franchise, which has been going on for years, is still raging.
To begin, most Redditors agree that the first three Harry Potter filmmakers were all excellent in their own right. Chris Columbus, whose directing approach appears to be the most "simple," delivered a genuine sense of enchantment and awe to the first two films, and his experience dealing with kid performers (Home Alone ) definitely paid off in the iconic roles. It also helped that his films were the most comprehensive adaptations. Then there's Alfonso Cuaron, and it goes without saying that people like Prisoner of Azkaban and his directing, which has injected fresh life and enthusiasm into the series.
Then came the renowned British director Mike Newell for Goblet of Fire. This movie gets some flak from users for being the first to significantly shorten the book due to its timeline and for the "asked Dumbledore gently" memes. However, most Redditors agree that in terms of actual direction, Goblet of Fire offered some incredibly dramatic moments and set-pieces like Cedric's death and consequences, dynamic, character-focused directing, and everything else in between. For most, it was just perfect (chef's kiss).
But then there's David Yates, who has about a tenth of the experience of each prior director but was handed the keys to the entire series for some reason. And most users wonder how could they possibly do that.
There are a million separate scenes and situations that are cited by Redditors as reasons why David Yates stinks, but one constant is a discomfort in his directing and editing, which we have to presume he had a significant role in. He did some of the sketchiest directing people have ever seen, like cutting away from characters when critical lines were delivered.
Other sequences, Redditors agree, appear hurried, and the visual aesthetic is dull and uneven among flicks. There's never any type of visceral punch to events that really require it, notably Sirius and Dumbledore's deaths (oh, the outrage!), which don't really carry the same weight as Cedric's despite the fact that they need to be about ten times more dramatic. Yates, according to Redditors, seemed to believe that slo-mo is an excellent substitute for genuine feeling. Ridiculous!
But still, users agree that the Dumbledore/Voldemort fight in Order of the Phoenix is the one particularly special, well-directed David Yates scene. They also believe that David Yates' efforts were hampered by the fact that the screenplays he directed were among the worst interpretations of the novels.
The Order of the Phoenix is the longest book yet the shortest film. Make it make sense! However, the fact that the final fight and Voldemort's death in Deathly Hallows were so epically messed up under his direction seals, according to Redditors, the point of his poor directing ability.