Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone review by Orlando C. Fernando January 5, 2002 Storyline: 10 (0=worst, 10=best) Originality: 7 Acting: 9 Special Effects: 9 Overall: A- (F=worst, A=best)

"Harry Potter" was a book fever that suddenly caught youth America by storm last year.
The movie is based on the first book "The Sorcerer's Stone" (known as the Philosopher's Stone to Canadian and UK audiences) by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter's parents were killed by the evil wizard Voldemort. Now shown at 10 years old, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has been living an ordinary life with less than happy foster parents and an annoying cousin. One day he receives a mysterious telegram inviting him to attend Hogwarts, a magician boarding school. A subsequent visitor Hagrid (Robbie Coltraine) introduces himself to Harry and reveals that Harry too is a wizard...capable of great power. In a plot seemingly along the lines of Star Wars, under the wrong guidance, he may be drawn to the "dark side" (exact words used) of magic and become as evil as Voldemort. So Hagrid must bring him to the school, prep him, and mentor him in the course of his studies. The rest of the movie is about his first year at the school and how, in the course of learning new powers and making new friends, he learns more about himself and his past. Eventually, he will have to confront both...and in a quite violent way.

The first half of the movie is a special effects fest.
Many young ones will undoubtedly be dazzled by the magic in this school that comes out from the darnest places. There is also an astounding inter-school competition game that combines soccer and lacrosse...in the air on broomsticks! Trust me, the game looks a lot cooler than it sounds. The special effects behind this mini-drama rivals that of the pod race in Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace. We also get introduced to his fellow classmates and eventual best friends: the fledgling Ron (Rupert Grint) and the intelligent Hermione (Emma Watson).

The director takes its audience seriously.
Although a children's story on the surface, it doesn't fall into the common traps of having child situations and plots. The story also doesn't infest the screen with millions of cute animal characters; by contrast there is a troll which definitely ain't no friendly Shrek! Harry's trio of heroes get into some rather complex and dangerous situations. Furthermore they are talked to with surprising and refreshing adult maturity. It was something done equally well with the movie version of "Something Wicked this Way Comes". The only warning to Harry Potter "newbies" like me, is that a few plot points will have your brain spinning in circles though most of them become clear in the course of the action. Additionally my young movie companion, a book fan, confirmed they are all explained in the book. The movie is also supported by a number of wonderful UK actors. American audiences will undoubtedly recognize Coltraine (recently of Valentin fame from the last Bond movie "The World is Not Enough") and John Cleese (of "Monty Python" fame). The kids are well selected, but see if you agree with me that Watson amazingly talks like a young Charlotte Church!

This movie works for all ages.
The only caution is that, as again confirmed by my young movie companion, several elements of the story were changed from the book, making it less enjoyable for the book fans. However, my understanding is that there was little in terms of plot changes, just mostly cosmetic...perhaps an odd spell or power or two. Regardless of your background of Potter-dom, I recommend this to anyone as a cinema watch at full admission price.

Copyright 2002 by Orlando C. Fernando. Harry Potter movie picture is copyright altocelebs.net. This page is for personal use only. It may be openly distributed for nonprofit in whole or part, but authorship must be credited.