Faithful to the book, but a movie needs to be a lot more than that!

Rating: Null/10 (13 December 2001)

A.K.A "Harrison Potter and The Philosopher's Chocolate Easter Egg".
You know those big Easter Eggs that come in a splendid box and look magic but are full of almost nothing, or at least contents that disappoint after the big build-up? Well that's what this film was like, a huge triumph of style and presentation over content. Yes, the sets were great, the set pieces wonderful (the Quidditch match was everything I had hoped for), the costumes cheesily perfect, but the direction was lousy and the acting was hammy with excruciating accents (adults) or wooden (children) with the exception of Emma Watson as Hermione who is my current pick for Star In The Making. The soundtrack was deafening sometimes too. And am I the only person who feels a little uncomfortable hearing an 11-year-old say "Bloody hell"? (Was that in the book?) Still, despite all that, it was mildly entertaining, even if it did seem like Star Wars meets Indiana Jones from time to time. It was also (mostly) gratifying faithful to the book.
7/10. I just hope the sequel(s) is/are better acted.