All I had been hoping for

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2002)

I had the same doubts many others had, namely: Is it worth the hype? And let me tell you, the answer is a resounding YES. Those who stay away from the books only because an evil advertising campaign has made them annoyingly omnipresent, deprive themselves of the genuine pleasure of reading some of the wittiest and most thrilling books ever written for children and adults alike. In spite of some cliches the critics obviously had to complain about, the story is complex and surprisingly profound considering the target audience. And that is where the true strength of the narrative lies, as the storyteller treats the children like adults - which, of course, makes the books interesting for adults.
So, why am I commenting the books instead of the first film here? Because Chris Columbus has done the rare and beautiful thing most directors are incapable of: he translated the first novel practically verbatim to celluloid. Obviously, some things had to be cut out, since the present movie was already some 150 minutes long. Even so, he knew what to cut, and what to keep, and refrained from adding stuff in a kind of auto-tribute to himself, so popular among directors these days. Still, there had to be those who griped about that aspect in particular, calling him uninspired and boring. Apparently, they have not read the book, or they'd know that all we need to know for now is right up there on the screen.
The casting is another strong point of the film. Long before the movie came along, I saw Maggie Smith whenever I read the name of Professor McGonagall; Alan Rickman is just deliciously evil as Professor Snape, dripping poison wherever he roams. The three children do a terrific job, especially Emma Watson as Hermione. And the Dursleys... wonderful. The only one who falls a bit short of the collective expectations is Fang: I think you can't help imagining him so much bigger. For the second part, we can look forward to Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. I can hardly wait to see that.