a great beginning to an epic series

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2006)

'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' is a film that is not only a great beginning to the HP series, but it stands up well as a family mystery film, with a few light hearted moments here and there. Add in an almost dead on adaptation of the phenomenal novel, 3 nice showings from the young kids, and an excellent supporting cast, 'Sorcerer's Stone' is a winner.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has always been shunned aside his whole life. His parents died in a car crash at the tender age of 1, and he's been very reluctantly raised by his aunt and uncle, Petunia (Fiona Shaw) and Vernon (Richard Griffiths). Add in their bratty son Dudley (Harry Melling), and you've got one bad childhood for young Harry. Then, one night, after days of mysterious letters from a place called Hogwarts, a giant of a man named Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) tells Harry that he's a wizard! However, Harry does learn some disturbing news along with this great news. His parents were not killed in a car crash, but murdered, by the most evil wizard in the world, Lord Voldemort, who then failed in his attempt to kill Harry, then fled, his powers mysteriously broken....Harry then comes to Hogwarts, the school for wizards, makes 2 friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), and later Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). He also makes his fair share of enemies, including Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), while meeting the mysterious staff and leaders of Hogwarts, including the fatherly Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris), his housemaster Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), the oft-frightened Professor Quirrell (Ian Hart), and the dark and mysterious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). Welcome to Harry's first year at Hogwarts!
The film gets strong supporting performances from the adults, especially the four I just mentioned. Ian Hart gives a great performance as the always scared, extremely apprehensive Quirrell, while keeping a mysterious aura about him. Rickman is once again excellent as the most mysterious character in the entire series. Harris and Smith add the two parental figures that Harry's lacked his whole life, guiding him and disciplining him together.
As this is a children's film, the fact that it stays entertaining and will keep adults interested makes it even better. It's a great film for the whole family to enjoy, with some funny moments from Rupert Grint and Richard Harris towards the end. The young children give off great performances for 10 and 11 year olds, and it's definitely a good sign for the future of the series. The direction is good from Chris Columbus, keeping it easy to follow for the kids. There are some scary moments, so I'd say kids under 8 years old could be frightened a bit. This is the only one of the Potter's that is well written, so enjoy it now. John Williams also gives a great score and a landmark theme that you'll have stuck in your head for a while. 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' is a real winner for the whole family. Have fun!! 8/10 --spy