Grade:  B

Director:  Chris Columbus		Released:  November 2001
Writer:  Steven Kloves, from J.K. Rowling's book		MPAA Rating:  PG
Players:  Daniel Radcliffe, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman		Running time:  152 minutes

Ratings System

I think it might be impossible to review Harry Potter - the movie - fairly, if you've read Harry Potter - the book.  The movie is great, but somehow it's too long and not enough at the same time.  All I can think about are the things in the book that were not in the movie.  Like the covert operation to relocate Hagrid's dragon to Romania; Or the "care of magical creatures" class (and a host of other classroom stuff, Harry only goes to potions class one time in the film).  And smaller things like Harry's owl Hedwig (which I don't recall being mentioned by name), Ron's rat Scabbers, and the various ghosts that haunt Hogwarts, which were barely mentioned at all.

The magic of the book is absent from the movie, and that's a real shame.  When I read the books, I want more, more, more!  When I watch the movie, it's just a time-passing amusement.  John Williams does the score, and it's very good, but doesn't rank among the greatest of all time.  The visual effects are mostly well done (the centaur looked fake, invisibility cloak was excellent) and go a long way towards making Hogwarts seem like a magical place, with paintings that are alive, and staircases that relocate.  Many folks have been praising the quidditch match, but I wasn't all that impressed.  It was fun, but mostly it looked like kids on broomsticks hanging from hidden wires.

I loved Alan Rickman as Snape, he was perfect.  Generally, the casting was right on, and the acting above average.  You can see this movie, but you'll have a richer experience reading the book.

- crocoPuffs