Friday Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Time for a quick review for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm trying to get all the films reviewed before the debut of Half Blood Prince, so here comes the first one.


You might also notice on my Genki Blog (link on the left) that I've changed the format in which I review animation. I'll be changing the format for video games as well, but not live-action. So don't worry, because I'll have carried this trend over to this blog shortly. Now, without further ado, here comes the actual review.


This was the film that dragged me into the world of Harry Potter. It's all thanks to a very good friend of mine whom I could always find sitting in a corner with his nose stuck in one of the books. I declared once that I would never be a fan of the books, as the hype was too much for me, but I agreed to go to the film with him and shortly after, I bought myself copies of all the books that had been published at that time.

So what about the film was so great? First of all, it's a pretty good book-to-screen adaptation. It's very, very faithful to its source material (whatever was changed, no matter how trivial, was pointed out to me by my friend at the theater), and it manages to capture the atmosphere of Hogwarts well.


The costuming was also great! The school uniforms should have been the biggest Halloween costumes out there, and all of the teachers and faculty looked amazing. They had personalities and quirks we could all relate to, yet they looked like they lived in a different world. McGonagall was great, Dumbledore was amazing, and Hagrid blew me away! The only character I had to get used to was Snape, and that was only because of his hair.


The acting was good as well, particularly the three heroes. I don't have to say much for the veteran actors, because they were all amazing in their respective roles, but the child stars were really good, too. Daniel Radcliffe was exactly as I pictured Harry when I finally read the books, although that could be because I already had movie Harry in my mind while doing so. Rupert Grint as loveable as Harry's best friend, Ron. I also thought that Emma Watson made a strong impression in this film because she had that snooty voice down so well! And the fact that opened her mouth very wide when speaking only made her that much more fun to watch.


The only adult actor I'm really going to mention is Richard Harris as Dumbledore, because he was very good. I've only ever seen him in one thing other than Harry Potter, and that was as King Arthur in the musical Camelot. He had a lot more energy back then, but he managed to bring that wise, safety-net feeling to Dumbledore in a way few other actors could.


The special effects in the first film are probably the least spectacular, and it was easy to tell that Quidditch matches were mostly CG, but that's all right. I don't go to movies for their special effects, and I can't say that this film's were particularly bad. They were all great, save for the Quidditch sequence and Longbottom's flying mishap. I don't know why, but I always cringe when I see it.


I also have to mention the troll scene, because there was another movie coming to theaters at the same time that also featured a troll scene: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings. I'm not going to lie, I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and since I had already read the book by the time the first film came out, I was looking forward to seeing how it would stand up against Potter at the box office. I actually wanted poor little Harry to crash and burn, but after I saw the movie, I was very glad it didn't!










Anyway, deep in the Mines of Moria, it would seem that the Orcs have a Cave Troll to do their intimidating for them. At the same time, wandering aimlessly and haphazardly into a girls' bathroom is Potter's Mountain Troll (see, there's a difference). So, how do these trolls match up?

Both of them were very good, but I do prefer the Cave Troll, if only because it was scarier and seemed more real to me appearance-wise. However, I prefer Harry Potter when it comes to judging how the troll interacts with the characters and environments. The Cave Troll didn't do much except thrash around, throwing people all over, and getting arrows shot at it by a very fake-looking Legolas. The Mountain Troll, however, smashed stalls, broke some sinks, toyed with Harry, and eventually got a wand stuck up its nose and was knocked out by its own club. How awesome is that? He wasn't as much of a threat as the Cave Troll, which looks far scarier, but he was much more entertaining to watch, and he really stole everyone's attention. The Cave Troll would have fared better if we (the audience) wasn't constantly looking out for Orcs as well. That and he didn't smash any bathroom stalls, nor did he wander into a girls' restroom.


Well, that's all for this review. It's late, I'm tired, and I kind of rushed through. I'll look back on it tomorrow and my face will turn white and aghast at all the mistakes I've undoubtedly made.