Magical at (almost) every level

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2002)

First of all I feel obligated to tell all of you, that I'd never read a book or even heard something of Harry Potter, before I went to see this film. All I knew was, that he is a wizard who goes to a wizard school and has adventures there. I picked that much up from the hype that has become Harry Potter since the first book was published.

On to the movie. I must say that despite the many followers of the Harry Potter hype, including the millions that have read the book or seen the film, I kept sceptical about whether I'd like this film. I mean I am almost 21 years old, so maybe it would be too childish for me, who knows? But it was not. It was just as childish as I like it. Christopher Columbus has really outdone himself here. I mean he's made a couple of good films, but this comeback (after the pretty solid Stepmom and the box  office loser Bicentennial Man) really makes this effort stand out so much more.

It is however not only Chris Columbus' quality that made this film what it is. Much of the praise has to go to the writer Mrs. Rowling and to the actors and actresses. I could go on and on about the fact that every actor was good, but what really was astonishing in my mind is, that all children actors and actresses were so good. I mean they were GREAT. They are in my mind even better than the grown ups, because this movie is about the kids, not the adults. The four main wannabe' wizards, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy (who does not only have a name that reminds one of Count Dracula, but looks like a version of him as well), all give you the feeling that many things are yet to come and that many things will happen between them. I mean I am no psychic, but I'd say that someday that little count Dracula will become Harry Potter's opponent and that maybe one day (if they get old enough in the stories) Mrs. Granger and Mr. Potter might become more than friends although I'm not sure of that. Maybe I've just seen the Star Wars films too often. If I have, it does not matter anyway, for the cast and crew of this film have watched them too often as well. One part of the music clearly is like Star Wars, there is a hat with a Yoda  like speech pattern plus the teachers want to keep Harry Potter away from the dark side of the force, oh sorry MAGIC!' Come on!!! They've seen Star Wars and learned from it! Not that it bothers me, on the contrary! I am quite pleased to see that people are able to see and pick out something good and insert it into their own work either as an homage or simply because it appeals to them.

There were few things bad in this film. Actually it was only one thing. SPECIAL EFFECTS. Where the heck did Warner Bros. get those guys? I mean one time they create world class effects and then the next you can easily spot the blue screen from miles! It was not as bad that it ruined my experience of the film, but be honest, in a film of this magnitude, you can expect good Effects throughout (see The Lord of The Rings: The fellowship of the Ring or Artificial Intelligence). The effects really were a let down for me at times, but maybe they just overdid it. There were times, in my opinion, that a blue screen would not have even been necessary. Those were also some of the times you could tell the landscape was projected onto a blue screen. Better luck next time.

After the huge success of this film (and even if the success had been more moderate) there will be a number of sequels. Actually two more films are already planned (set for release in 2002 and 2004) and it is believed, that if Mrs. Rowling writes all seven books (as she intended to do), there will be seven films made in total. There are a few things I would like to say to Warner Bros. in regard to those films. First of all, make sure that you will have all original actors necessary for the sequels under contract and if not so persuade them with lots of money. Do not, I repeat DO NOT hire other actors to play characters already portrayed by someone else. Second, hold on to your screenwriter. He has been successful so far in doing what he does. Third, hold on to the man that composed the music. In a franchise you want to keep the music the same throughout all films. If possible even to make the music so memorable, that it makes people say: That the music from Harry Potter.' Fourth and last, hold on to your director (at least for the next one or two sequels, preferably for all if he is up to it). He has worked with all those kids before and knows how to talk to them and how to make them perform well. Plus this is not some Mission: Impossible or James Bond like franchise in which you want every movie to stand on his own. It is supposed to be more of an Indiana Jones kind of franchise. If you do, however change your director, may I suggest that you do is as George Lucas did with the original Star Wars trilogy. Get basically unknown directors, who know their way around a studio and get them to make the film, how you want it to be done. Approaching a director switch like that, will allow all films to fit into the big picture, without inconsistent film styles ruining it.

A good film for the whole family, but just as The Lord of the Rings: The fellowship of the Ring, it falls short to be best film of the year.
8,25 out of 10