| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |
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| Rating: Good Distributor: Warner Brothers Release Date: November 16th, 2001 (wide) Running Length: 2 hours, 32 minutes MPAA Rating: PG Genre: Fantasy, Wizardry, Family Director: Chris Columbus Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane. |
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| Plot: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has to spend the first eleven years of his life with his aunt and her cruel family. Potter's misfortunes began when his parents were attacked by a very powerful, evil wizard named Voldemort. Voldemort killed Harry's parents, but when he attempted to confront Potter as a baby Voldemort was weakened. Afterwards, Voldemort's rain of terror stopped, and Harry became a legend. However, Dumbledore (Richard Harris), a great wizard, and the man in control of the Hogwarts School of Wizardry decided to have Harry stay with his relatives until he was ready to utilize his powers. This all changes when Potter turns eleven and goes to live at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry. Embracing his fame and growing abilities Harry embarks on an adventure with two of his schoolmates to find out about a Sorcerer's Stone, and why the weakened Voldemort thirsts to acquire it. |
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| Critique: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is an enjoyable and engaging motion picture. It includes some wonderful fantasy components, and Chris Columbus presents it nicely. Although the film suffers from a shaky beginning and a weak ending, the bulk of the story is very likable. At times Harry Potter is quirky and comical; its humor gives the storyline credibility and vivifies its characters. The film exudes a feeling of warmth that draws the viewer into the fantasy. The storyline of Harry Potter is consistently creative and imaginative, and on screen it is exciting and enjoyable to watch. Technically, the film is very polished; the visual effects are beautiful, and the cinematography is poetically fanciful. The acting in the film is effective, as the star Daniel Radcliffe is surrounded by very talented British character actors. Although the dialogue rarely holds a candle to the inventiveness of the story, the actors deliver the lines in a very convincing manner. Credit goes again to director Chris Columbus for helping all the child actors play their parts well. It is likely that the child actors were at least partially talented to grab roles in such a large undertaking, but the majority of very young performers don't have the extensive training or abilities of older actors. Thus, if they perform the director should be given a lot of credit. Admittedly, there are always young actors like Haley Joel Osment who are astonishingly gifted, but they are not the majority. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone conjures up a warm, and compelling fantasy world. The film is impressive in its visual excellence, and the technical aspects of the film are very strong. Chris Columbus makes his film affecting, and the actors do a solid job. The film has its flaws, as its dialogue isn't terribly polished, and the beginning and end could have been much better. Still, I highly recommend the film. review by supernothingman |