Oh Why Are We Cursed With Harry Potter in This World?

Rating: Null/10 (30 October 2003)

Excessive and nearly completely tedious first installment in the sure-to-be long running series. The famous books come to life on the silver screen with "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone". Young Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is recruited to Hogwart's School to learn the arts of being a wizard. He immediately makes friends in Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, but nothing seems quite right. The titled stone, guarded by a three-headed dog, appears to be the target of one of the faculty members at the academy. It must be shady professor Alan Rickman, right? Chicago critic Richard Roeper called this "The Wizard of Oz" of this film-going generation, but really come on. This movie is not in the galaxy of films as the aforementioned production. Early success here gives way to a nearly unending running time and special effects that could tire more than interest. Rickman, along with legitimate performers like Maggie Smith, John Cleese, Warwick Davis, John Hurt and Richard Harris get shoved aside by ugly visual effects and the film's three adolescent leads (behaving like mischievous brats throughout). Director Chris Columbus (a film-maker that somehow continues to work on big budget junk) continues to show shortcomings and I think the scope of the book and the film are just way too much for him and the performers. 2.5 out of 5 stars.