So it begins

Rating: Null/10 (9 December 2001)

Let me start off by saying that it is a very hard thing to translate a book into a film format. It can be a huge success or a great failure. It is also made alot more difficult when the book in question has an absolutely phenomenal fanbase. Harry Potter has this, hence any director who was gonna tackle this task, had his or her work seriously cut out for them.
Speaking as someone who has read all 4 books and been captivated by them, I was hesitant to see this movie, but upon viewing it had it's great moments and failures. First of all the actors who played the 3 main characters achieve the great feat of bringing Harry Potter, Ron Wealsey and Hermione Granger to life in realistic fashion. Emma Watson as Hermione is the annoying know it all, Rupert Grintt is great as the boy who wants more yet doesn't have enough as Ron and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter does steal the show, with the right amount of surprise at his wizard status and yet the lonely child orphaned at an early age.
The setting, in several locations over Britain, adds to the magic and sheer monstrosity that is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was taken aback by the Quidditch Match. For the one thing, I was happy that I hadn't clearly imagined it while reading, because the filmed scenes filled in the necessary mental blocks.
I did note that there were several chunks of the story missing along with certain characters, but the film's current running time is 2hrs plus and taking into consideration that this is a CHILDREN'S film, the running us quite long. If the whole book had been filmed, I gurantee that this would definately be a 3hr plus film.
For the most part the film is a spectacular effort, especially from Chris Columbus. It has the appropriate darkness, as well as the fun and light hearted element. I found that those who complained were often speaking from the point of view of those who had read all of the novels and found that they possibly couldn't figure any edits that were justifiable. However the point is that as well as this being a kids movie and essentially a childs book, that is not how all the books are, they grow as children grow, which is why i will reserve my judgement for the film as a series until such time as they appear.