Pretty Good, Very close to the book.

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2001)

I have read all four of the Harry Potter books, and was very excited about seeing the movie, and for the most part, was not disapointed. I found it to be very fast going and completely entertaining. The acting was remarkable. All the kids looked just like they should of, and had the acting skills to match their looks. I only found a better child actor in Haley Joel Osment. The other actors also did an excellant job, most notibly Maggie Smith, Richard Harris and Alan Rickman. Minus a few details, the movie was very close to the book...For what was there. They skipped a LOT os scenes, which is excusable, I mean, it was nearly 3 hrs as it was. One of my biggest complaints was the Visual Effects. When ever they made a character or creature completely out of Special Effects it looked horribly fake. The Ogre, Cenatour, Fluffy, Nobert, Voldermort all looked horrible. The Scorpion king form The Mummy Returns looked better then they did. I supose they weren't so bad, but after seeing Final Fantasy and movies like that, I can't help thinking of how much better they could of done them. But not all of the effects looked horrible, in fact some were spectacular, like Quidditch. It was so well done, it made me smile with gratification while watching it. The special effects, the choreography, everything was perfect. I was also very impressed by Hogwarts. The art design and special effects were stunning, esspecially when the paintings moved, very well done. I was also highly impressed by the camera work and directing of the film. The way they captured the exploding stone of the chess pieces was fantastic. Overall, very good, I just wished they put more time and energy into the special effects made creatures, but besides that, excellant.