Wonderful for the most part

Rating: Null/10 (29 November 2002)

One of the most fun things about the HARRY POTTER movies is that they are not only a who's who of British acting, but who will be. Daniel Radcliffe. Emma Watson. Rupert Grint. Christian Coulson. They have huge careers ahead of them,and the established actors and actresses all have the time of their lives. Kenneth Branagh was a perfect choice to play Professor Lockhart. So was Miriam Margoyles,as Professor Sprout(one of my personal favorite characters.) Of course,Richard Harris did a masterful job as Headmaster Dumbledore(my favorite character); whoever designed his office deserves an award. Again,the script nearly sucks the fun out of the character,but Harris rose above it.
Maggie Smith continues to be an excellent Professor McGonagall,as does Alan Rickman as Snape. Snape is a complex guy,constantly at odds with himself,and Rickman realizes it perfectly. Of course, Robbie Coltrane was born to play Hagrid. Hagrid rules. Then there's David Warner,as Filch,who's pretty ominous. I couldn't tell if Mrs. Norris was a real cat or not. Speaking of animals: Fawkes kicks ass. So does Hedwig. There's a rumor that Hedwig is actually Madame Hooch; it makes sense to me. And Dobby is no Jar Jar Binks. Dobby is hellarious, and some of the things he did dropped my jaw. Jason Isaacs was pitch-perfect as Lucius Malfoy.
Of course,there's the subplot about wizard prejudice; it is handled well,particularly when they tell Hagrid about Hermione being called a mudblood. I love the way Hagrid and Hermione deal with it.

The special effects ranged from amazing to not bad. If you haven't read the books,I'll just say that something happens to Harry's arm and the the translation from page to screen is amazing,as is the "eat SLUGS!" bit. The Burrow is another triumph of set design(loved the clock.)

Cons: Warwick Davis didn't have any lines at all. Zoe Wannamaker(Madame Hooch) was missing. No one noticed J.K. Rowling's cameo except me. Again,there were things I really wanted to see that didn't make it into the movie or were changed around.
I keep hearing complaints from people about how the ending dragged on and on and on. To those people,I say: sit down and shut up until the storytellers are finished. The ending is great and I'm glad I saw this movie on a big screen instead of waiting for video.