The book is better, but quite a good film

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2001)

I must admit, I was very excited to see this movie. My wife and I left work for a few hours to see the first showing today. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was quite good.
I will say this - the book is much better. This is usually the case, and this instance is no exception. The book offers so much more insight on what the characters are thinking and what they've been through. People who have not read the books will miss out on quite a bit if they only see the movie.
Anyway, back to the movie. The acting was surprisingly good. Someone had commented on Daniel Radcliff replacing Jake Lloyd (SW - Episode I) as the worse child acting performance - NOT EVEN CLOSE. Lloyd will forever hold that title. Radcliff does a very good job, as does Rupert Grint (Ron), Emma Watson and the rest of the cast. True, Radcliff does have his voice dubbed in parts, but I didn't notice.
The special effects were fantastic. Very true to the story, and very creative and imaginative. Nothing will replace the mind's incredible ability of imagination, but the movie does well.
The story also stays true to the book as well. There are some discrepancies (as one reviewer mentioned, some small characters aren't even named - not even Hedwig!), but that's not surprising as most movie adaptations do that.
All in all, this movie is very good. True Harry Potter fans will appreciate the effort. 9 out of 10.