Not only an excellent piece of entertainment, but also a tremendous and honourable adaptation.

Rating: 9/10 (11 November 2001)

There's an article at Salon that talks about how little time there is left to remember Harry Potter as he exists in your head - before the big screen version takes over your impressions of Hermione, Ron, Harry and the whole Hogwarts gang. And it's true - it's not exactly how I pictured it, and I'm probably left with the impressions that Chris Columbus has given me.
So thank god that, on the whole, these impressions are positive, entertaining and true to the spirit and plot of the original. You couldn't get a much more faithful adaptation than this. Almost every scene from the book appears to be in the film - which may explain its 2 1/2 hour running time. There's enough time to introduce the wealth of the Wizarding World, from Diagon Alley and Platform 9 3/4s right through to the candlelit banqueting hall and the Dark Forest. And all the characters that need to make an appearance do so - and no matter how incidental their segment, they're given space to shine. And with such a wealth of quality actors, you're unlikely to be disappointed by any of the adults performances.
Our three main leads may be a slightly different matter, but none of them commit intolerable sins. Ron is played perfectly - he's cheeky and fun and shows tremendous comedy skill. Hermione is stroppier than she appears in the books - perhaps too much of a prima donna as well - but she still manages to carry the part effectively without lapsing into parody. Strangely Daniel Radcliffe's Harry is the weakest of the bunch - he has the look and occasionally the passion, but sometimes sounds like he's reading from a script. It has to be said that the scenes in which he sounds forced are generally excruciatingly short - and perhaps don't give him the chance to shine.
This is, in fact, the film's main failing. In attempting to present the whole story, certain bits are played at a rather breath-taking pace. It's a terrible shame that the opening scenes with the Dursley's aren't played at greater length, and much of the expository stuff from Hagrid comes rather too thick and fast. The need to get to the meat of the story overwhelms these earlier scenes a bit - so if you find yourself scratching the back of your head or looking through your popcorn for a really juicy bit, then just bear with it - you will be rewarded when the film settles down...
And a brief note of caution - if you haven't read the books, you are unlikely to be as enthralled as everyone else - the pacing is fairly book-like and you may start wondering where the film's structure is. Hint - you're not watching a standard three-act drama. Settle down, relax, and it will all make sense...
Special effects wise, Harry Potter needs so much spectacle that it's clear that some scenes have been conducted with a little more polish than others. There are only a few parts of the movie that haven't been touched up in some way - whether it be moving staircases, CGI owls or huge 3-headed giant beasts called Fluffy - and the strain shows at times. The Quidditch match for example is tremendous fun (although you wonder that they can get away with such an obviously terrifyingly dangerous sport), but short-cuts have been made which stick out a mile. Look for a particularly embarrassing fall-from-the-sky routine, in which the Quidditch player falls down behind a large piece of cloth. Clearly this saves on the expensive CGI work that a lot of the game requires - which includes (if I'm not mistaken) more than a few completely computer-generated actors...
All in all - you can't go far wrong with this film - it's entertaining, keeps your attention, looks generally pretty good and doesn't lapse TOO often into sentimentality. Kids may not be able to sit still through the first twenty minutes or so, but will settle down after that, and parents should find themselves entertained in a way that may seem strangely familiar from their youth. For all it's flaws (and there aren't really that many), it's a must see movie.