Decent Adaptation But Ultimately Too Generic and Child-Like

Rating: Null/10 (21 January 2007)

Harry Potter is miserable. His family hates him. They give him hell. But that all changes soon enough when a giant named Hagrid arrives to take Harry off to a school for witches and wizards. He departs on a fantastical adventure that he could only achieve in his wildest dreams--only this time, it's all too real.
Based upon the novel 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', this is currently the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time. It was hyped up so much--particularly from the fans of the wildly popular books. JK Rowling didn't know what she was getting herself into, I'm sure, when she scribbled down the first few chapters of her saga in that London coffee bar. She sparked a near-cultural phenomenon.
Too bad it didn't live up to it's hype in terms of quality (I think). It was decent enough for an adaptation, but overall, you could put the standard 'book-is-better-than-the-movie' excuse here. It did make its fair share of money though.
The direction was way too generic. Chris Colombus, while his career consists of mainly child-films, was an okay choice for the role of director. But his style is not as specific as I would've liked. He gives the film a light-heartedness that is not quite appropriate. The book is much darker I think in terms of themes and story. Too bad Terry Gilliam did not sign on.
The acting is decidedly average for the cast members appearing. The kids did okay for their age. It's a good thing that they grow up through the later films. Other cast members such as Robbie Coltrane (although perfect for the character he played) and Alan Rickman (also perfect) did not perform to the best of their abilities, methinks. Richard Harris was quite impressive though.
The script by Steve Klovis was not very impressive. I thought the dialog was cheesy and childish. The screenplay was too full of cute child moments that I really don't like, although these kinds of things will suit family viewings (which is what the studio was aiming for in the first place).
Overall, this is a decent enough adaptation although I did not like it as much as I would've liked.
6/10