My Revenge for the Non Fans!!

Rating: 1/10 (17 November 2001)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as it is called everywhere else besides the US, and I'd like to know why, is no more than a 5th rate failure at best. Now I know I'm probably enraging every single person who has read the novel, however this movie is not the novel. Book and Film are two totally different mediums. Something that works in a novel, wont decessarily work on the big screen. Harry Potter is the greatest example of that.
Colombus decided to change very, very little in his adaptation of the novel, which is the movie's greatest fault. An author has the luxury to spend pages and pages describing a certain image in a story; a film does not have that kind of luxury. The movie was terribly boring due to the fact that Colombus tried to pace the movie the same way as the book. That is an impossible feat. The movie is not meant to be some companion to the novel. If that was the truth, then the 7 billion people who havent read the novel wouldnt even bother showing up to watch. A movie is supposed to have a broad audience in order to make money, if Colombus feels that he is only making the movie to please Potter fans, then AOL Time Warner will have a huge failure on their hands. I've never read the book, and some may say that that is the reason why I didnt enjoy the movie. But again, I went to see a movie, not read a book. The Godfather is not a classic because it stayed true to Puzo's novel. It is a classic because Coppola knew what elements would need to be changed in order to make the book filmable. Colombus doesnt have a clue.
The only thing good about Harry Potter was the cinematography. Most of the film looked brilliant, especially Hogwarts itself. Yet, a visually pleasing film does not make the film suddenly good. It doesnt even come close. The effects are just a testament to the fact that Colombus got his priorities way wrong when he filmed this boring, plodding paced movie. I voted it a one, I was feeling generous.