Faithful to the Book

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2001)

I am not a great fan of the book (it is a children's book and I am not a child). I had begun reading it before the movie but never finished it. I went to the movie simply because my family wanted to go. What can I say, the movie was magnificent. The acting was flawless, from Harry to Snape to Dumbledore to Hagrid. The sets had a perfect feel to them. The experience of Harry seeing the magical world was seeing him finding everything new, wonderful, amazing yet somehow right, the way things should be, the place he belonged.
Many people have been comparing Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings. This is not a proper comparison. Harry Potter is on a much smaller scale while LOTR is an epic. You may as well compare Citizen Kane to Lawrence of Arabia.
This is a movie I would happily recommend. It is the first well done complete fantasy I have ever seen (Star Wars isn't fantasy ... and Indiana Jones is but in a different way). It helps having a child with you but is not necessary.
To everyone involved in the movie, well done. I liked it better than the book.