Don't Believe the Hype!

Rating: 4/10 (21 December 2001)

I have not read the books. I was under the impression that the books were for children, but after noticing that many adults were reading them I had to ask someone. I was told the books were sort of like Star Wars - highly accessible for adults. Well, the film is definitely sort of like Episode I. It is made for kids, and I do not find it particularly accessible for adults.
There are some great effects in this movie, but that is not enough to keep the attention. As the film moves on it becomes uninteresting and quite boring. I am sure most kids will love this, but the filmmakers should have included more intelligence in the fun, like Disney is a prime example of.

The mistakes are plentiful and the story does not take form before 90 minutes have passed. That is when the Sorcerer's Stone is even mentioned for the first time. This is a safe sign that the 152 minutes make an unnecessarily long movie.
The biggest problem of the film is, however, the cast. The complete kid part of the cast (excluding Watson) is completely without charisma. These kids are as uncharming as they come, and I cannot believe how Radcliffe could be chosen to carry a film of these proportions.
One positive thing I have to mention is a very cool chess game with living pieces. Not worth the ticket though.
Rating: 4/10