Everything I expected

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2001)

WARNING! Some Spoiler Content.
As an avid reader of the books I've been anticipating the release of the movie for months with mixed feelings. A part of me has been eager to see how the magical world of moving pictures, quiditch and magical lessons would appear visually on a movie screen, another part of me has been reluctant to relinquish my own imagination to the imagination of the directors and producers of the film.
Regardless I went to see the show opening night. I went in knowing that the movie would not be as good as the book, movie adaptations never are. But I also knew that the producers had attempted to keep the integrity of the story and characters in tact. I was not disappointed by what I saw. The casting director deserves an award for being bang on for every character. The Dursleys were almost as I had pictured them, though I was disappointed they weren't portrayed as mean as they are in the books, though I understand that time was an issue, and it really didn't take away from the story.

But it was the children, especially Ron, and Hermione that really stole the show, Emma Watson was perfect as the supersmart, bossy Hermione, they couldn't have chosen a better actress for the role. And Rupert Grint was beyond adorable as Ron. The adult roles too were perfect, especially Snape, McGonagal, and Dubledore.
As for the story, with the exception of 2 scenes I thought it was done beautifully. Combined with just the right amount of special effects, it seemed that this world of wonder and magic could really exist. The Quiditch match was by far the highlight of the movie for me, and though I have heard some people say that it seemed unimportant to the story, I believe it was in fact essential. In the story of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Harry is discovering this world of magic for the first time, Quiditch is a part of this world and is therefore essential to his feeling of wonderment, and eventually belonging. All his life he's never belonged anywhere and suddenly he's an essential player in the biggest game of the Wizarding world... not to mention the fact that he becomes a hero... not for something that happened when he was a baby and doesn't remember but for something he has done here and now. This is essential to understanding the character of Harry, not to mention it looked amazing!
My biggest complaint about the movie is that the dragon thing was changed too much, they should have either expanded it a little more, or left it out completely because as it was it really didn't flow with the rest of the movie. My only other complaint is the omission near the end of the movie, where the kids are going through the obstacles to get to the stone. After the chess game there is supposed to be a potions riddle that Hermione helps Harry solve before he goes on by himself to encounter the last challenge. The fact that this was omitted makes very little sense to me, as it is mentioned earlier that "Snape is one of the teachers protecting the stone" yet his protection does not exist.
Other than this I found the movie overall very enjoyable and I eagerly await the 5th book and the next movies. Though it baffles me to think how they will adapt the 4th book without butchering it or turning it into an 8 hour epic!!! I definitely recommend this movie, but I still think to truly appreciate this movie, you need to read the books.
10/10