Not perfect, but a great likeness.

Rating: 9/10 (7 December 2001)

Having read the books several times, as I always do before seeing any movie made after a well-known book, I thoroughly enjoyed this representation. The second time I saw it I tried to think of just the movie, without comparing it to the book. Clearly, this a difficult task, because it's not easy to just forget what you know. I think I enjoyed the movie even more the second time, though I can't say for sure that it was for that reason.
As any avid reader will tell you, movies always omit things from the books. However, everyone will see certain details as being more or less significant, and therefore be more or less satisfied with the way the movie turns out.
The omitted portions and details seemed well-chosen, with one exception: I would have liked to see Hermione solve Professor Snape's logic puzzle with the seven bottles. I thought Hagrid should have been even larger than he was, though Robbie Coltrane played the role perfectly. All in all it was a very entertaining movie that did a pretty good job of conveying the story I'd already read.