Magic, entertaining and quite similar to the book

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2008)

I've watched this movie a long time ago and I must say, it simply took my breath away. I've read the book and it was as terrific as the movie, it was quite similar to it but it skipped a few bits out such as the "The Midnight Duel" and the beginning. But I understand they wanted to make the movie shorter and enjoyable and I certainly have no problem with that. I thought the plot was excellent and it fits in with the book (it's a good thing that they didn't skip a chunk of bits out from the book and made the plot very different from the book - who wants that?) and I must say all the characters from the book was the perfect choice for all the characters in the movie, such as Dumbledore, he looked exactly like the person in the back cover, which of course was Dumbledore. So all the choices for the characters were all incredibly realistic and makes the audience picture them in the book. The performances from the wonderful cast were out-of-this-world! All of them played their role very well and realistically, including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), and I believe it was his best movie yet! And the special effects used in the movie was, again, incredible! They were used at the right time, in the right place and they looked absolutely tremendous, in other words, REALISTIC! The castle looked incredibly amazing and all of the other settings/costumes etc. were one in a million. The beginning was good, but in my opinion, there should be a story-teller telling the people who haven't read the book what happened in the very beginning of it (introducing the Dursleys, what they do, something strange going on in town and even how Harry's parents died) so that could be an improvement, rather than just cutting to the action at once which makes the people who are not familiar with the book unsure. But they did some fantastic work after that, introducing Harry and how his miserable his life is with the Dursleys and it was very clever what happened in the zoo, making the snake talk to Harry, which that sort of unfolds the secret of him being a wizard so that was great as well. The Letters From Hogwarts were very clever too, but Harry's uncle kept on ripping them up, which makes the audience know that something weird is going on and I must say when the letters flooded the house, I was laughing my head off! And finally Hagrid came to the rescue right on Harry's 11th Birthday! Which makes the audience have a mixture of feelings, scared/wondering who it is at the start and relived that all the secrets his aunt and uncle kept from him is being told, including Harry's a wizard! At the pub everyones staring at Harry and shaking his hand, it makes you feel that you want to be be him too! And that an ordinary boy actually turned out to be a wizard and not get defeated by the the great wizard "Voldemort" (a dark wizard who killed Harry's parents but not managed to kill Harry) and also the name was very clever! When Harry met Professor Quirell, we got a completely different thought of him! He is a good guy, who is quite shy and stammers, but secretly he's a villain! Diagon Alley was amazing too, one of the greatest setting from the movie, which gives the thought of it's a place, where of course wizards go to but actually it's a normal alley, full of shops and people! And all the stuff in the shops, makes you want to have it such as owls and the Nimbus 2000! Gringotts was brilliant too, full of goblins doing work and while getting Harry's money, a secret jumps out, something is hidden in a vault but what could it be? Which makes the audience desperate to know the answer and they want to watch more and more, so that is a great way to keep them entertained. Discovering his wand was great, two wands that won't connect to Harry, but strange wand did! Amazing! The Journey To Hogwarts introduces more characters such as, Ron and Hermonie, and that is when their friendship is formed. Hogwarts Castle was remarkable, the makers tried so hard to make a real castle and they eventually did! Then we meet all the other characters and some are Harry enemies such as, Drace and Snape and then we find out Harry has been placed at Gryfindoor House, with all his other friends, so that is a great start to the year! And then we come to the mystery of the stone, which is truly captivating and grabs the audience and that is where the adventure begins and Harry faces new challenges such as Qudditch, fighting with a huge mountain troll and solving the mystery of the stone! So I strongly recommend you rent this movie on DVD/Video turn off the lights, grab the popcorn and get ready for two hours of pure fun and excitement! If you loved the book, you will love this!
RATING : 10/10