I was not one bit disappointed and I read all four books.

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2001)

They say opinions are like hind ends and everyone has one. Well, here is another hind end opinion. I went to see the movie on its opening day in America and I just loved it and I am almost 50 yrs old. I have always been a lover of fantasy and these books were certainly the best fantasy books I have ever read plus I was not in the least disappointed in the movie. They did an awesome job. Yes, there were a few changes and omissions here and there, some differences in characterizations and story line but not so much different that it ruined the story. Over all, very well done.

I don't know how anyone could be disappointed in Daniel Radcliffe. He was Harry! Yes, his character was more low key than Ron and Hermoine but he had to be that way. It was a good balance between their characters. Ron is supposed to be funny, Hermoine is supposed to be bossy and Harry is the straight guy. I thought he was perfect. Ron (Rupert) and Hermoine (Emma) were perfect in their roles also and Rupert's character shone during the climactic chess scene. The other children were also very good. Neville and Oliver Wood did their roles perfectly and Draco Malfoy was good but didn't seem to be quite evil enough. Something was a little lacking there. I enjoyed the other Weasley brothers and hope to see more of them in the next film, especially the pranksters Fred and George who had too little time in the movie but that was understandable because there's only just so much you can fit in to get the story told.
As to the adults, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid and Alan Rickman as Snape just seemed to walk right out of the pages of the books into their roles. When I first read the book, I pictured Alan Rickman as Snape immediately and was very pleasantly surprised when he got the role. Ian Hart was also good as Quirrel as was David Bradley as Filch. David Bradley played a similar role in the Masterpiece Theatre production of "Our Mutual Friend". I agreed with many that Maggie Smith was too old to play Professor McGonagall, having pictured a woman in her early 50's for the role. However, she was so excellent in the part that in her case age was irrelevant. I was disappointed with Richard Harris as Dumbledore. He certainly looked the part but he seemed too feeble and quiet. You had to really strain your ears to hear some of his last lines of dialogue. Yes, Dumbledore is a very old wizard but the strength of characterization he had in the book seems to be lacking a little in Mr. Harris. I thought Sean Connery would have been a much stronger Dumbledore and would have looked fine with the white hair and beard.
As for the scenes. I was absolutely riveted to my seat during the chess scene. It was the highlight of the film. The Quidditch match, the mirror of Erised and Diagon Alley were also standouts. Though during the Quidditch match there seemed to be a lot of shots of Harry just sitting there in midair watching the match when he should have been looking for the snitch. Yes, I noticed that Harry was sometimes digital but it was such a small portion that how could anyone think that it wrecked the scene? I wish they had introduced all of the members of the Quidditch team. The part involving Norbert the Dragon was rather brushed off in the movie as were the ghosts. Where was Peeves? And John Cleese's part as Nearly Headless Nick was way too small though what little he did was very good. Those moving pictures on the walls were awesome. The finale in the great hall lacked the excitement of the book as the whole school realized that the Gryffindors were beating the Slytherins. It just didn't seem to be enough.
The things I didn't like were much less than the things that I did like so all in all it was excellent. Do not take small children, please! A little boy sat on his dad's lap behind us and kept saying he wanted to go home because he was scared. Several scary scenes for the little ones. I hope this film gets a nod during Oscar time. The three child stars deserve a special mention and Robbie Coltrane certainly deserves best supporting actor. 4 stars!!