Wonderful adaption of the book!

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2002)

(Note: This review has some mini-spoilers in it.)
I must say, I was quite impressed by the filmmakers' ability to but the book on film.
However, I would recommend that one read the book before watching the movie. Though the movie stands nicely by itself, it seemed to me to be a bit more of a treat for those who had already read the books. At some points, the movie can become a bit disillusioning and/or can veer off into MST3K-able territory (e.g., the beginning of the movie).
Another reason that I would recommend the book before the movie is that the viewer can lose or not grasp the sense of time in the movie. For example, it was a bit of a stretch for me to leap from a couple weeks into the school year at Hogwarts to Christmastime. Compared to this, the book effectively uses time to 1) actually give the audience a sense of the passing time, and 2) build the intensity for critical events in the plot.
But these flaws are minor. What really matters (to me, at least) is the adaption of the book to the screen.
An amazing thing about the movie is that it showed things from the book almost exactly as I had envisioned them while reading the book. While this might seem to be a negative, it is astounding to see the characters and settings from the book in the tangible world. Just one example of this would be the Great Hall, where the students of Hogwarts have major gatherings. Exactly as I saw it with my mind's eye.
I gave this movie an 8/10. Great use of the special effects to blur the line between magic and reality. Needless to say (for those familiar with the Potter series), J.K. Rowling's plotline is simply incredible. Again, read the book, then watch the movie. It's really a fulfilling experience that way.