Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman
At this point anything I say in this review has probably already been said and I don’t need to embellish anything anymore. Harry Potter is an institution that has more than proven its worth to people. The books are all quite good, filled with all sorts of ideas that make you think ‘shit, why didn’t I think of that?’ So it’s obvious that someone got a hold of this brilliant property that has swept the imagination of the world and shouted from the rooftops, “GET ME CHRIS COLUMBUS, THIS NEEDS TO BE A MOVIE THIS INSTANT.” And thus history was made.
HP&tSS is a fantasy movie about a boy who is suffering a crisis of extreme abuse and neglect at the hands of his foster parents. He spends the better parts of his days locked inside of a small closet below a flight of stairs fantasizing about how being a wizard who saved the world when he was a baby. As his confinement worsens, he dreams of a magical schoolhouse where all the wizard and witch kids take lessons in magic and wizardry, replete with its own haunted mysteries and quirky inhabitants. Here at Hogwarts Harry is no longer locked away and forgotten; actually, he is a bit of a celebrity. His defeat of the Big Bad Voldemort when he was a tiny toddler resonates within the wizarding world even 10 years later. Students and professors alike lavish him with their attention and praises. He even secures a place on the local Quidditch team as a Seeker, being the youngest player of the crazy dangerous sport for over a century. It’s the perfect childhood fantasy that has set the stage for volumes and volumes of copycats and fanfiction for years to come.
As far as book adaptations go, Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone is pretty much a beat-for-beat copy. It is an adventure that begins and ends with a quaint little cherry on top, and as a children’s film it is bound to delight. Watching it in an era where CGI is far more realistic makes it difficult during scenes where they had some trouble with the green-screens–Quidditch in particular–but the magic and monsters still look good enough today to be remembered fondly.
The issues I have with it stem from the adaptation itself; key plot points don’t seem to be as well connected or make a whole lot of sense as they do in the book. A lot of stuff happens in Harry’s head that makes better sense in context, the magic mirror being the best example (though they make considerable effort at this very important moment). Why the Sorcerer’s Stone is important also feels kind of glazed over, as does the origin of the invisibility cloak and the presence of the villain. Encounters with Snape and Malfoy feel a lot more forced on film as well. Actually this seems to be the tone of the whole movie. Things are just kind of there hanging out, hoping you’ve either read the book or are too busy looking at something else to ask questions. It’s not a terrible movie, but a Needs Improvement sticker could be put on its report card.
ThomFiles 