A delight for all ages!

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2001)

The adaptation of J.K Rowling's first installment of the Harry Potter series is, not to be too trite, magical. The children are wonderful and perfectly cast. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry strikes just the right tone of wonder, Rupert Grint plays the role of sardonic Ron Weasley as though he were born to it and Emma Watson walks a very fine line playing Hermione Granger as somewhere between a total prig and someone you'd want as one of your best friends. Robbie Coltrane makes a fine Hagrid (although when I read the books, I kept picturing Brian Blessed in the role). I would have liked to have seen more of Alan Rickman as Professor Snape, but considering the ground the moviemakers had to cover, I am very impressed with the results. All of the major plot points are covered and there is a bit of foreshadowing of events yet to come. The special effects are fantastic, as is to be expected, but do not get in the way of the story. In particular, the Quidditch match is one of the highlights of this action-filled movie.
This long-anticipated event, unlike other recent overly-hyped movies, actually lives up to expectations (at least for me) and I heartily recommend it for the whole family.