Movie Review

By a Amazon.com reader, October, 2001

"Let me start by saying that fans of Harry Potter will most likely not be disappointed in the new movie adaptation. It's VERY faithful to the book. In fact, it's a little TOO faithful. This movie tries to be so faithful, in fact, that it ends up feeling overstuffed and a bit underdone.

Let's start with the acting. It's first rate for the most part (although some of the child actors overdo it a bit, but not Radcliffe, who is perfect in the lead role). The veteran British supporting actors, however, shine brightly. Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltraine, especially, have amusing and highly memorable takes on their characters.

The production design is phenomenal, full of beautiful and sometimes startling images (even if a few of them seem like rehashes from Sleepy Hollow). John Seale's photography is beautiful, as is John Williams score (reminiscent of his work on Hook).

The visual effects rely heavily on CGI (computer-generated imagery) and consequently FEEL like special effects. A few highlights, however, include a ballgame in which the participants fly around the stadium on brooms and a troll who invades the school. Beyond that, however, the effects are simply serviceable and never completely convince us that what we are watching is real in any way.

Chris Columbus' direction is, as usual, rather unimaginative. He misses several opportunities to find awe in the story, which it needs in order to hook the audience. Too often, the magic in the movie (even the first time Harry uses his own powers) is treated matter-of-factly and unsurprisingly.

My biggest complaint, however, comes from the sheer length of the film. At 2 1/2 hours, it is simply too long for its target audience (as well as for the adults who will be taking the kids). Part of the problem is in the structure of the story. It's extremely episodic, with several scenes really having little or nothing to do with the main plot (which involves the stone mentioned in the title). In fact, so much time is spent on these sidetrack episodes, the main plot is given short shrift.

Another part of the problem related to the length of the movie has to do with the climax and what comes immediately before it. A live chess game (with life size pieces and real weapons) is a remarkable and imaginative set piece. But it's not the climax. Instead, the climax comes 20 minutes later and never lives up to the excitement level of the chess game (or the much early ball game).

Following the rather rushed and underwhelming climax comes another 20 minutes of "wrapping up," which feels like an eternity. One can look at Columbus' past movies and see this is a typical problem with him (Home Alone is a perfect example). In addition, the last 20 minutes of the movie seems like a commercial for the movie's sequel (which, despite reports to the contrary, WILL include the same cast, according to an article released today).

So all in all, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is sure to be a huge hit for its first few weeks, when the ardant fans will stand in line for hours to see it. But once that first rush is through, I suspect its box office will fall off rather sharply. This is not the kind of movie that kids will want to see more than once until it comes out on video, when they can pause it for necessary bathroom breaks."

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