Director: Chris Columbus (Home Alone 2, Mrs. Doubtfire)Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (December Boys), Rupert Grint (Thunderpants, Driving Lessons), Emma Watson (The Tale of Despereaux), Richard Harris (Gladiator, This Sporting Life), Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Maggie Smith (California Suite, Gosford Park), Robbie Coltrane (The World Is Not Enough, Cracker), Julie Walters (Driving Lessons, Billy Elliot), Warwick Davis (Star Wars, Leprechaun), Tom Felton
The Deal: Orphaned as a baby and treated poorly by his Aunt and Uncle, Harry Potter's (Radcliffe) life changes when he is accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on his 11th birthday. There, he learns that his parents were both wizards and that they had been killed by the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. Through his endeavors at school he makes friends with Ron Weasley (Grint) and Hermione Granger (Watson), and finds a mentor of sorts in the school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore (Harris). Harry's curiosity uncovers a plot to steal the legendary Sorceror's Stone, which can grant eternal life, and he suspects Lord Voldemort is behind it. With the help of his two friends, he sets out to stop the dark lord.
Thoughts: The film's tagline, "let the magic begin," could not be closer to the truth. Whether the viewer had read the books or not, the first film installment of the series was spellbinding. Director Chris Columbus did a wonderful job bringing the story to life. He created an imaginative and constantly interesting magical world, and faithfully adhered to the book's details. The film kept exciting pace throughout, and was full of all of the emotion, wonder, action, and suspense a viewer could ever want.
The casting for this film was critical, as the characters would carry through and grow for seven more films. To say the choices were anything less than masterful would be an understatement. The three core children (Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson) all looked the part and played them admirably. Coltraine, Harris, and Smith were all exceptional in their performances. Perhaps unexpectedly, Alan Rickman provided not only a scene-stealing performance, but one of the most popular character's to spawn from the films, the mysterious and possibly villainous Severus Snape.
Accuracy: Easily the most faithful of all the Harry Potter films. Almost every important and moderately relevant scene was included, with little to no changes to them. The most glaring omission was Peeves the poltergeist. Though the ghostly character would have been fun, looking back, I don't hold the decision against anyone. Of the magical tests Harry, Ron, and Hermione face, only the potions one was left out, which I would have liked to see. The cast all resembled the characters as they were described in the books, and the wizard world was as accurate as one could ever expect it to be. ☆☆☆☆1/2
Overall Verdict: The first film installment of the popular book series is as magical and spellbinding as the most devout fanatics could have ever hoped for. The casting is perfect, the story is endearing, and the visuals are beautiful. If there was one fault, it's that it may have followed the book too closely at times, slowing the film's pace a bit. ☆☆☆☆
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