A little rough around the edges, but in the long run you won't mind

Rating: 7/10 (24 November 2014)

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (Or Sorcerer's stone depending on your region) introduces a complicated world filled with a lot of ideas and characters. It isn't perfect and it's obvious that as the first instalment, it was unclear to the director and screenwriter as to what would work and what wouldn't. Sometimes it follows the novel too closely with some characters and ideas that overall could have been left out (the ghosts for example, do not play an important part in this first story) and at times it's awkward to have us bounce quickly in-between all of the classes the students attend. However, it does a good job of introducing us to this world, it has a lot of really memorable moments, a great cast and there's a lot of imagination here (some from the movie, some from the original book). I wouldn't say that my love for the Harry Potter series, both the films and the books influence me when I say that this is a good movie. It's a humble beginning to a series of films that's sure to become essential viewing and a lot of people's favourite for years to come. (Theatrical version on the big screen, August 17, 2012)