One of the most faithful adaptations of the series

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2009)

Kudos to the director and screenwriters for making the movie reflect what I loved about the book. It was exactly the Hogwarts I had pictured when reading it, with all of the mystery and fun that I could have hoped for. The casting was also excellently done, and I just adore Maggie Smith! She is excellently portrayed and one of my favorite characters.
I was disappointed that the population of Hogwarts wasn't depicted as being more diverse in ethnicity and ages as it was in the book. But one of the things I love the most about Rowling is that she doesn't have ethnic stereotyping in her books at all. There is a wonderful level of diversity in her characters, but she doesn't beat you over the head with it. Race doesn't matter in the world she created; what matters is whether you can do magic and if your parents are "pure" blooded. It is a really excellent way of having the readers take a step back away from the issue of race to better see the absurdity of judging others by their magical abilities or some other superficiality.
Well anyways, this was a good movie for all generations and my son and I really enjoyed it.