Freshman year at Hogwart's passes the grade

Rating: 7/10 (31 May 2007)

Although the first installment of the Harry Potter series falls slightly short of the all-encompassing magical experience it had hoped to be, one must admit it did come pretty close to a total triumph. Based on the insanely popular children novels from author J.K. Rowling, viewers are entertainingly introduced to the enchanted world of young witchcraft and wizardry which had captivated an inordinate number of readers. 30 minutes into the expensive film and it is completely clear why.
Rowling has crafted an exquisitely, conceptually rich fantasy world which manages to combine many darker, reality-based themes and deal with them through the wondrous world of Hogwarts. It is in this immensely beguiling school a majority of the entire franchise will take place, and it is easy to see why. A new vernacular with which Rowling describes her alternate universe seemed to have resonated with many more people then expected, and in this satisfying introduction director Chris Columbus wastes hardly any time getting into the fun of it all. Not since the mid 80's have we seen such a lovingly detailed homage to children's fantasies, labored over in such a way that would make any hardened fan of the genre blush.
Brought to life by a great cast, many experienced actors playing professors of the magic school only make these young trio of children, whom we will come to watch mature, that much more engaging. Daniel Radcliffe may have been a little over his head with this first installment, arguably overshadowed by his two co-conspirators. He nevertheless accomplishes the task of portraying the iconic shy boy wizard with a little directional and a whole lot of conceptual help, ushering in one of the more lucrative franchises of modern days.