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Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I had already read the first two Harry Potter books before seeing this, which I think made me a little biased against the movie. The books were good because of their sense of fun and the creative ideas J.K. Rowling came up with. The reading I did about the movie beforehand warned that it tried very hard to stay close to the details of the book and not the spirit. I found this to be exactly true. The acting all seemed fine, most of the effects were good enough, but the sense of fun and wonder wasn't there. The sets all seemed kind of gloomy, and the movie was too long to have any sense of tension or excitement. Some of the problems of the book seemed emphasized, like Harry's complete lack of skill or effort to make things happen and just having good things happen anyways, and the unfair awarding of points at the end. Most people I talked to about this said I should lighten up because it is just a kid's movie, but I don't see that as an excuse. I love lots of kids movies, but I still expect them to be well crafted and intelligent. I have a problem with characters that are born into greatness without putting real effort in towards making it happen. I like characters that need to work to get good things. I find that to be more accurate with how I see the world working. Harry seemed to have all sorts of great abilities that just came to him without effort. Sure, he did try to be helpful, but that isn't quite the same thing. And the fact that three first year students could get past all of the best traps the school's faculty could set up? That seems ridiculous, and makes me fear the magic system in the Harry Potter universe doesn't make any sense.

So, despite all this, I thought the movie was mediocre. Lots of people I watched it with seemed to enjoy it, though, so maybe I am just mean and grumpy. But we'll see if they still enjoy the movie in the future or were just caught up in the hype and excitement.

If nothing else, I liked it more than Titanic, so I wouldn't mind seeing it take over the top box office spot.