Wizards: On-screen and behind it too

Rating: 9/10 (16 July 2009)

Java Man Reviews "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Originally appeared in LakewoodBuzz.com December, 2001.
OVERVIEW:
As an infant, Harry Potter (Radcliffe) was deposited on the doorstep of his mean aunt and uncle, and has been living with them and sleeping in a cupboard below the stairs. On his 11th birthday he learns that he's a wizard when he's invited to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Once he arrives at the paranormal prep school he becomes friends with the clever Hermione (Watson) and the courageous Ron (Grint). He also encounters the hilariously outlandish instructors (Harris, Smith, Rickman and Hart) and the gruff but gentle groundskeeper (Coltrane). While Harry and his friends compete with the other houses on campus, they are also drawn into an adventure involving a mysterious wizard who wants to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. The courage and cleverness of his friends rubs off on Harry and, as the movie ends, his life as a young wizard is... just beginning.
REVIEW: 3 1/2 of 4 Java Mugs
The movie version of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has been long awaited by young readers and their parents, and they won't be disappointed. The screenplay is quite faithful to the book and is fascinating enough to hold any audience's attention despite the 2 1/2 hour length. Episodes are strung together without much transition or explanation but this is a minor fault, since it allows that much more of the story to reach the screen. The dialogue is fast paced and witty, with plenty of high-spirited humor.
Some of the movie's best lines come from Coltrane's character who keeps amazing himself by revealing secrets he is supposed to keep. Radcliffe admirably inhabits Harry's trademark eyeglasses and closely matches the visual image that has emerged from the buzz around book series. As the character closest to "normal," he is our guide into the movie's weird and wonderful world. Watson and Grint are also delightful as his cohorts in conjuring. The witches and wizards who run the arcane academy are played with enormous relish by some of the best British actors at work today, led by Harris, Rickman, Hart and Smith (who, like Jean Brodie, seems forever in her prime).
There are wizards off-screen, too -- those in charge of bringing key episodes to life. Lavish cinematography and imaginative set design capture the central images of the book, including the high-flying Quidditch match (played on turbo-powered broomsticks) and the crucial Wizard's chess match. Computer visuals are combined with actual locations to give the setting a sort of realistic unreality. John Williams' superb score further enlivens many of the key scenes.
And there's more to come. Kloves has already written the screenplay for the second installment and is currently adapting the third novel, while Rowling is about to publish her fifth book in the series.