Great start

Rating: 9/10 (16 July 2007)

I came to these movies totally oblivious to the books. I have not read a page of any of the novels. With that, my critique of these films is purely on the cinema. I had not previously added my thoughts on the whole series to this point, but with the addition of my thoughts on Order of the Phoenix, I figure it is time I got caught up.
I absolutely enjoyed this movie. I had heard all the clam-mering about Potter being a film and all the fans being pumped up, but as aforementioned, I had not read them, just know the basic outline. I thought Columbus captured a great sense of wonder and "magic" with the film. All of the leads were perfectly cast and Columbus set the stage for the series and no matter your opinion of him, have to give credit where credit is due on those two facts.
My only complaint about the movie was the end, which kind of was a little anti-climatic, all in all though, everything with this film from the costumes, set designs and casting were spot on. But the biggest contributor, as is the case with many film he scores, William's score raises this film from being a really good film, to a great one. John Williams is an absolute genius when it comes to finding the right themes for characters. His music adds the perfect touch to all that is going on.
This is the lowest rated film of the franchise out here on IMDb, but for someone seeing these oblivious to the books, this was a great start for the franchise and still remains my favorite of the franchise so far.