Fine reminder of where the magic all began

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2009)

Raised by a family who detests him, Harry Potter (Radcliffe) learns he is a wizard and soon finds himself at school of magic Hogwarts.
It's hard to imagine in the 90's J.K Rowling being rejected a contract for her wizard series. The Harry Potter franchise has spun further than many anticipated and this film reminds us of the moment when the franchise really took off and some magic really happened.
Almost 8 years ago now and current renowned teen stars Radcliffe, Watson and Grint star in their first roles as the famous friends Harry, Hermione and Ron, all with a magical gift. So the acting is far from perfect, it hardly matters now when you watch the series as the actors learn from their mistakes and we see them growing up and facing more challenging tests, for their characters and for themselves.
It is however the older actors who generate the magic of acting. Alan Rickman was born to play Snape whilst Richard Harris fits the role of Dumbledore like a glove.
But this is all about the story of a young unappreciated boy who was born in a different lifetime from his adoptive parents the Dursleys. Struggling under the strain of life Harry is thrown a lifeline when he arrives at Hogwarts, a chance to make friends and live life as he wants. This is an entertaining 2 hour picture that generates laughs, mystery and excitement in the form of a different world. The concept of magic is always tricky to cover in terms of realism but J.K Rowling's imagination is frequently present here and is adapted with some gusto in this 2001 fantasy adventure.
However where this film offers spills and thrills consistently there is so much missing from the book. More imagination and excitement appears on the pages where we see more characters are introduced. Therefore it is worth reading before viewing, s with all the instalments.
John Williams' score fits the scene perfectly whereas Chris Columbus' direction is good, you can't but feel the elements of magic could have been justified to generate a bit more surprise. Nevertheless the Quidditch match is some of the finest sporting direction you will ever see in the franchise.
This first part is a humorous and enthralling family adventure that does enough good justice to the book and with some good performances is a fine reminder of where the young stars started and where the franchise really begun.