Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
Jan 12th, 2002Not having read the Harry Potter series at all – indeed, knowing nothing about it except it was hugely succesful at the box office – I went into the cinema expecting nothing more than a mildly entertaining romp for children, hopefully with a few elements that might appeal to the older crew.
Unfortunately, this was not to be. The storyline itself was mildly interesting, but I found myself making comparisons to the Phantom Menace – a bunch of things happen at the start, then there’s this dumb visual spectacle (pod race / the weird ball game they play), then the rest of the movie happens again. The movie was pretty long, packed with impressive visuals, a storyline implemented in such a way as to really only appeal to children (ie, none of the smart subtle wit that appears in some movies like Shrek/Monsters Inc).
It was quite good on the big screen – the visuals make up quite a lot of the movie. Fans of the book series will no doubt enjoy seeing it come to life, though I can’t vouch for the accuracy of reproduction. Judging from the success of the movie, I’d say its probably pretty close. One to take the kids to.
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