3 AMAZING scenes makes a worth watching.

Rating: 6/10 (10 December 2001)

I'll say it plainly - this film was simply a visual imitation of the book. No more, no less.
The actors were all wonderful (except that Radcliffe kid who was HORRIBLE) - Rupert Grint as Ron was the best, Emma Watson as Hermione was charming, and of course all the masters of British theater - Maggie Smith the goddess, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris (delightful!), John Hurt, the genius Fiona Shaw as Mss. Dursly and the greatest Alan Rickman... Except that kid who played Potter there is no complaining. Everyone has a part that's perfect for him\her.
The design was dazzling - I was amazed for seeing it on the screen was EXACTLY how I imagined it - the platform, the alley, the mines in the bank... The forest, and Hagrid's home... All was just beautiful, like being inside a dream. But there was something missing - the film didn't want to go beyond visualizing the book. It was boring, and slow, filled with many gaps in the script, and many annoying scenes, and if it wasn't to that hysteria all around in it, I'd dare say it's a bad film. It lacked the wittiness and dark humor that filled the books  the criticizing of English morals, and of the capitalist, merchandized culture of the modern world, a culture of which the Harry Potter phenomena long became a part.
But there are no words to describe the magic, for it was a truly a magical film, and that was mostly seen in 3 scenes that no matter how many flaws there are in this movie, these scenes were amazing. The Sorting Hat was very impressing, the face of Voldmort appearing on this guy's face was truly terrifying (and definitely not suitable for children!!!), and the unbelievable, paralyzing, divine scene of the Quiddich - the only reason I'll go watch it again. It was so realistic, and so eroding, and so beautiful, it kept me staring at the screen without being aware to what's really happening. It was the photography, and the music, and the editing, and of course the works of visual effects that gave me the same feeling that I had when I watched `Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'  a true katarzis, a true triumph of cinema over all other arts. It was the one scene in the film that made me think  hell, no book can describe something so stunningly. And I love books, and I found J. K. Rolling's description of the game in the book sweeping and wonderful, but the scene in the movie was, as only the 2 other scenes I mentioned earlier, truly superior to the writing.
Anyway, this film is a wonderful way to pass time, and a delightful way to marvel the capabilities of digital effects. As for more than that  I'd hope the first Lord Of The Rings film won't disappoint me. Not that I am much disappointed by "Harry Potter" because I didn't except much  it was directed by Chris Columbus who usually deals with children movies, so I'd knew it would be childish and not a bit sophisticated. That is what I expected it to be. I just hope that the next movie, as the second book, will have more to offer than this one had.