Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Special effects bring a fun story to life
Cons: Slow near beginning, under used characters
The Bottom Line:
Yes, there are some flaws
But it is hard to picture
Better film of book
Harry Potter's World Comes Alive
Believe it or not, this movie was my introduction to Harry's
world. When I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I was captivated by the imagination that had obviously
gone into creating the initial story and this film version. Now that I'm
finally reading the books, I'm taking a second look at the movies, this time as
a fan of the original tales.
11 year old Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is an orphan
living with his uncle and aunt. They treated him barely better then a servant
while spoiling his selfish cousin.
All that changes one day when he finds out that he's a
wizard. Suddenly, he's introduced to a world that he doesn't know filled with
giants and goblins. Yet is this world he's famous for surviving the attack that
killed his parents. Before all these changes really sink in, he's off to
Hogwarts for his first year of schooling in the art of magic.
There, he makes friends with Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione
(Emma Watson). But he also makes enemies in the form of Draco Malfoy (Tom
Felton), a snobbish bully. He evens seems to have attracted the negative
attention of one of the teachers.
But under all the fun, a serious danger lurks. And Harry is
stumbling upon the pieces. Will he figure it out? What can an inexperienced
wizard do against overwhelming powers?
What is great about this movie is how faithful it is to the
book. With the changes that Hollywood
usually likes to make to stories, this is a pleasant surprise. Yes, little
details are changed for the sake of time, but they are so minor it doesn't
matter.
And considering what they had to depict, that is truly
amazing. You've got giants, goblins, trolls, flying brooms, and other magic
that Harry and his classmates do. This is a very special effects heavy movie.
For the most part, they pull it off well. You'll really believe that Harry is
playing Quidditch (a wizard game played in the air on broomsticks). One of the
main characters is a giant, and none of his scenes appear to be full of special
effects. Not everything is perfect. Occasionally, some of the computer effects
are obvious, especially the troll that attacks our heroes at one point.
The acting is also great. The three main characters were
unknowns at the time, but they do a decent job with their parts. Many of the
other characters don't have that much to do, but the actors don't let that
dampen their performances at all.
The movie's faithfulness to the book is a double edged
sword. It pleases the multitude of fans of the books, but it also leads to the
movie's weaknesses. This book in the series is rather slow. The beginning sets
up the characters and Harry's world and the plot doesn't really get going until
late. This happens in the movie as well. While everything we are watching is
fun, it can drag at times.
In a three hundred page novel, you have time to develop as
many characters as you want. In a movie, even one that is two and a half hours
long, you don't quite have that freedom. Only the most minor of the characters
from the book are cut, leaving many of the characters little time to be truly
developed. As I said, this isn't a reflection on the actors. Just a simple
matter of finite amount of time to tell a rich story.
As I said, the first time I saw this movie, I hadn't read
the books. I wasn't lost of confused for a minute. If you have no idea what the
stories are all about, you'll get all you need to know to understand this story
from the movie. One reason this works is that Harry is learning all the
information right along with us. This helps make the exposition an important
part of the story.
This movie is not perfect, but it does wonderfully bring an
imaginative series to vivid life. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will please fans of the books without
losing those who haven't read them. And it's entertaining. In the end, that's
all that truly matters.
What's your opinion on the divided Christian reaction to the series?
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