Our Movie Reviews Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Release Year: 2001
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Last Reviewed On: June 14, 2002 (by Michelle)
(DVD version)


Scott's Review:
4 out of 5 stars on June 8, 2002

First off, I'll admit, I'm probably biased. I've read all four of the Harry Potter books out there to date, and have really enjoyed them. So, I'd probably enjoy the movie if for no other reason than just seeing what I've read.

That aside, I really think it was a good movie. This is one of the more true to the book translations I've seen in a while. There's quite a bit that was left out, of course. But, what remains of the book in the movie seemed to be very well done.

The visuals and overall cinematography was very well done. The book manages to bring lots of grand visuals into your imagination, and the movie does an excellent job of bringing those things to life. I'm not trying to suggest it's as beautiful, as say Lord of the Rings was, but nevertheless it doesn't feel like it was shot inside of a small sound stage. Though, most of the CGI used throughout the movie feels like CGI, and manages to break the suspension of disbelief a bit.

Some of what was left of the movie might make it difficult for muggles, er, people that haven't read the book, to follow. Even though the movie is long, clocking in at over two and a half hours, there are still quite a few characters that aren't really critical to the plot gone. There's also a bit of the magic versus normal world interaction left out that makes the story feel a little to fake. Rowling really did a good job of making the story feel like a realistic story in the book. Some of that suffers in the movie.

On the whole, however, it's an enjoyable ride, and I feel even if you haven't read the books, you should still enjoy the movie.

On a different note: Let me just point out that the Bonus DVD is perhaps the most annoying thing I've ever seen. Instead of a normal DVD full of deleted scenes and such, you have a Myst or Seventh Guest like game to play. I'm sure there's bonus material on there somewhere, but I lost patience looking for it.

I'm glad I just rented this DVD. I'd likely have returned it if I paid money for it. It's that annoying.


Michelle's Review:
4 out of 5 stars on June 14, 2002

Once again, I hadn't read the book, so when I saw the movie it was the first time I was exposed to the Harry Potter phenomenon head on.

To be honest, I expected it to be much more of a kids movie, and it is, but it isn't to the degree I expected. In fact, it's just as appealing to adults. Espically if you're into the whole fantasy genre. Which i'm not so much, but after getting into tv shows like Charmed and Buffy the last year or so, you might have an argument against my stance on that..

Anyway, I won't go into the plot, cause quite frankly, by the time we review a movie here, it's usually on DVD and everyone knows the plot already.

The movie was well done, the acting is surprisingly good, and the characters well established and likeable. I really enjoyed it. That is until we put in the bonus disc..

The bonus disc is presented as if it were one of those adventure puzzle games ala 7th guest, for the pc, which I despise, and since you HAVE to play their (many, many) games in order to view the extras, we never got that far. Hopefully they'll put out another version with more easily accessable bonus stuff.

The movie's CGI left a bit to be desired, but it didn't detract from the movie too much to me. It's a fantasy movie, so you already have it in your psyche that it isn't real, so when CGI comes on screen that looks fake, it's not as hard to swallow as in some movies (*ahem*.. Episode II..)

I am looking forward now to the 2nd movie. and the 3rd. Heck, I might even just read the book.


-- Scott and Michelle