series has a shaky start

Rating: 6/10 (12 June 2013)

An 11-year-old orphan finds out he is a wizard, and subsequently attends wizarding school, where he learns intriguing facts about his past.
Too many scenes fall flat. From the moment Dumbledore casually walks on-screen, the magical elements are treated in a matter-of-fact manner; director Chris Columbus fails to imbue them with a sense of wonder. There are fake-looking special effects (the backgrounds during the flying scenes), as well as some good ones (the moving staircases). But the worst offender is the generic, intrusively over-active score.
Despite all the flaws, the story carries you along. Columbus tends to encourage overacting, but several of the actors here (especially Maggie Smith) apparently didn't oblige. Alan Rickman is probably the best-cast actor in the movie.