Off to a Successful Start

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2011)

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This is the film that started it all, and was, of course, a huge success. One might wonder what would happen if you had seven movies to make and the first one already flopped or was poorly done. But this did not happen. The crew was perfect, with a master of family films (Chris Columbus) at the helm. The casting could have been tricky, since they had to get children to act well on screen and then make sure they could keep them for a decade. Daniel Radcliffe proved to be perfect for the part, and Emma Watson does alright, too, despite overacting at times.
The adult cast is fleshed out with plenty of solid choices, filling the void from serious, to silly to scary. Alan Rickman, who plays Snape, has a little bit of all three, and was really a crucial casting choice, and the costume department did their best to make him look like Trent Reznor. Perhaps they could have cast Reznor himself, but I suspect he does not have Rickman's range.
Of all the films in the series, this is the lightest. There is a villain, but he plays a minor role. And there are some dangerous challenges, but overall the element of fun remains. These are 11-year old children, so there needs be no rush to push them into a world of life and death. And for those who have not read the books, this is our first time meeting everyone, so introductions and character development are important.