It's 'Philosopher's Stone'!

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2006)

I'm not really a big fan of the HP films. I don't think that they translate well from the books as they are often quite long and need severe cutting down in order to fit into a 2 hour+ film. This has been increasingly evident in the later HP sequels, but Philosopher's Stone seems to be pretty much all intact.
I do find Chris Columbus' mostly naturalized approach to shooting the film to be the most appropriate. In GOF, Mike Newell had the cheap and uncheerful logic of shooting everything with a heavy green filter to make it look 'mysterious' and 'magical'. I think it just looks stupid and that the far-fetched fantasy nature is more identifiable if shot more ordinarily.
What does bug me about this film and always surprises me on repeat viewings, is how horrible the entire kiddie cast are at acting. Check out the terrible performance from the guy who plays the blandly named Oliver Wood! Woof! It's like watching some rubbish Primary School play with big budget visual effects. It takes me out of the movie every time.
The 150-minute running time seems to pass by in a breeze, something I've never really felt with the sequels. But something that bugs me is even right here at the beginning Dumbledore seems to be like 'I'll tell you about it when you're older, Harry.' Which is a cheap hook to make us read/watch the later installments.
I don't really have that much to say about Philosopher's Stone, which is why my review is short and spiceless. It's a shame the sequels had to be so boring. Stick with the books, a couple are overwritten but they are superior to the films. A clichéd thing to say, but still true.