Harry Potter's A Complete Triumph

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2012)

Here's an event movie that holds up to being an event. This filmed version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, adapted from the wildly popular book by J.K. Rowling, stunningly brings to life Harry Potter's world of Hogwarts, the school for young witches and wizards. The film is the first installment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. It features Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, John Cleese, and Fiona Shaw co-star to play key supporting roles.It was directed by Chris Columbus.
The story follows Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts as he discovers that he is a famous wizard and begins his magical education. Upon his 11th birthday, Harry Potter, who lives in misery with an aunt and uncle that don't want him, learns from a giant named Hagrid that he is the orphaned son of powerful wizards. Harry is offered a place at prestigious Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards that exists in a realm of magic and fantasy outside the dreary existence of normal humans or "Muggles." At Hogwarts, Harry quickly makes new friends and begins piecing together the mystery of his parents' deaths, which appear not to have been accidental after all.
Being so faithful to the book is both the movie's strength and weakness. The movie unfolds exactly as written in the book, so there is little room for surprises or discoveries.The greatest strength of the film comes from its faithfulness to the novel, and this new cinematic world is filled with all the details of Rowling's imagination, thanks to exuberant sets, elaborate costumes, clever makeup and visual effects, and a crème de la crème cast.A combination of computer graphics, detailed sets, and real-life locations gives the film the authenticity its fans expect.The second-half adventure doesn't translate perfectly from page to screen, ultimately because of the film's fidelity to the novel.This is a case of making a movie for the book's fans, as opposed to a transcending film. Writer Steve Kloves and director Chris Columbus keep the spooks in check, making this a true family film, and with its resourceful hero wide-eyed and ready, one can't wait for Harry's return.But nevertheless,it still manages to be a complete triumph for it is a near-perfect commercial and cultural commodity.