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"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
(Reviewed November 18, 2001)
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A classic. Fans of Harry Potter (and I'm definitely one of them) cannot help but be delighted by this amazingly faithful screen adaptation of the first book in the series. Perfect casting, beautiful production design, and more pure, enchanting charm than any other movie for years. Every now and then, something that is overwhelmingly popular actually is worthwhile, and this is one of those rare occasions. Don't be put off by the wall-to-wall hype and jaw-dropping financial success of all things Harry Potter related, as I was until I actually bothered to read the first book. This time, the masses are right!
Incredibly, some reviewers have faulted the movie for its worshipful fidelity to the print version, a complaint that boggles my mind. If those churlish scrooges had seen this film without knowing that a book version existed, and reviewed it with honesty and integrity, they would have fallen all over themselves (quite rightly) in praising its warmth, humor, sweetness, beauty and originality.
My only two criticisms are so minor as to be insignificant. The Quidditch match, with elements that look great in still shots and during the set-up, is too rushed and hard to follow during the actual play-action. The chess scene toward the end is truncated to several shots of pieces being destroyed, instead of being paced by showing the drama of the actual game unfolding.
But the movie's wonders more than outweigh those quibbles. Emma Watson, who plays Harry's bossy but lonely friend Hermione Granger, manages to be perfectly cast even though she is far cuter than the buck-toothed book version of her character; she gets the girl's spirit down pat. Rupert Grint as Harry's pal Ron Weasley is similarly ideal, full of wide-eyed wonder and good humor. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry has the perfect mixture of unflappability, innocence, loyalty and decency that one would want in the most famous boy wizard in the world.
A wonderful movie!
Back Row Grade: A
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