A Truly Magical Start

Rating: 10/10 (8 September 2016)

It's hard to imagine just how influential the Harry Potter series has been on my life. It was released around the time I was born, and I can't really ever remember a time when it wasn't my favorite world to escape into. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first book I can remember becoming a fan of, and wanting to read it again straight away. I'm not even going to pretend that I can judge this without bringing over my fondness for the books.
For all the fault this first movie has, it feels like a soon-to-be classic, with many aspects featured here becoming ubiquitous in popular culture. The score by John Williams is recognized worldwide as a magical and wondrous piece of music, conjuring up images of broomsticks, wands, and giant castles hidden in the mountains. Hogwarts Castle itself is now an enormously successful theme park in Florida, Osaka, and more on the way. King's Cross has become a tourist attraction, with hundreds of fans waiting in line to take a picture with the trolley at Platform 9 3/4 every day.
The cast from the very beginning is stock full of British acting royalty, great actors sinking their teeth and relishing every bit of dialogue. The young actors do their best and it's fun to see them start off, knowing what lies ahead for them, both in the course of the series and afterwards as well.
The opening sequences have a real sense of mystery and wonder, possibly enhanced by the knowledge of the truth about Harry's real identity. The introductions to characters and places are perfect, most notably: Diagon Alley, Alan Rickman as Snape, and our first glimpse of Hogwarts.
The story is simple and mostly an excuse for world-building, but what a world to get lost in. In my head, Hogwarts wasn't so...practical, but it looks like a place a child of 11 would consider the most amazing place in the world. The creatures and rules and spells add to the fun.
The film does feature shoddy CGI (the quidditch match is particularly bad) and at 2 and a half hours it is overlong. It's hard to ignore, though, the place in popular culture it has attained and the earnest sense of wonder and fun that it offers to everyone who gives it a chance.