The 'Wizard of Oz' of a different generation

Rating: 7/10 (22 June 2018)

Much like the film in said title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone seems to essentially be a nice kind of kiddy escapism flick into the world of magic, but like The Wizard of Oz, it still manages to be surprisingly touchy in a profoundly humanistic kind of way despite its far fetched story.
I grew up with these series, and thought they were the greatest thing i have ever seen at the time. Now that i have grown older and judge all cinematic feats objectively, Sorcerer's Stone might have lost some of its figurative magic, but it is still an impressive and genuinely entertaining film. After having recently been through the torture of seeing the entire Twilight saga series, it is nice to see a film series such as Harry Potter that DOES actually have great writing and for the most part good acting, and manages to be believeable in the setting it provides. Dumbledore, who is the most important character in the film, and his dialogue with Harry in front of the mirror shows us that the film manages to still be relevant to actual family values and issues while subtly lying under its gorgeous magical cover.
Visually the film is stunning due to the fact that the filmmakers wanted to give it that authentic look, resulting in many on location shots. The outdoor shot of the first time seeing Hogwharts is simply visual delight in what could have easily been an ugly CGI snoozefest. The great hall ( Which was not on location and actually built for the film ) is also fantastic visual beauty, and the high camera angles show us a great overview of the entire room while this is coupled with John Williams's fantastic score, which uses fantastic chords of joy and happiness in the light hearted scenes while still maintaining that ominous mystery feel in the darker scenes, such as the Unicorn search in the dark forest. Williams's score for this film is definitely one of the greatest in the history of film due to the fact that it captures the adventure, joy, mystery & evil of the film like no other.
Its three main characters Harry, Ron & Hermione, who were ofcourse still very young child actors at the time, are surprisingly genuinely enthusiastic and natural about the happenings in the film, and while they will never be the true star of it, they definitely do not drag the film down. However, there are indeed fantastic acting performances in the film, especially by Alan Rickman ( Snape ) whose subtle slow way of speaking is intimidating in its own right, and Richard Harris ( Dumbledore ), who captures the wise and friendly aspect of his character as only Harris can, with his calm demeanor and naturally fatherly character, which only makes it sadder he passed away before the making of the Prisoner of Azkaban, as a Dumbledore as good as Richard Harris's will never be seen.
The narrative of the film is great, with us slowly beginning to understand more about the plot as it unfolds. It doesn't insult any type of audience with obvious dialogue or flashbacks ( *Cough* Twilight * Cough* ) and instead lets the mystery unfold into logic on its own. All three main characters embody their characters perfectly as each is used to the best of their abilities throughout an event in the story, which will make sure none of them seem irrelevant, and all of them give a clear view of what they are like.
It is a grandiose spectacle of visuals and magic, and while obviously lacking in real depth it is also a genuinely human story about an orphan ( Harry ) who finds friendship and courage through a series of brave events.