HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
Directed by Chris Columbus
with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Robbie Coltrane
Opens Friday
It is utterly depressing to watch a wonderful book be turned into an awful movie. It is painful to watch as beloved characters are twisted and prodded into Hollywood’s idea of what they should be. It is heartbreaking to think of all the hard work that an author put into book only to have it butchered and marketed by the film industry.
This is not the case with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Adapting a novel for the screen is never easy, but Chris Columbus did a wonderful job in translating author J.K. Rowling’s tale of a boy wizard into a movie that is sure to devastate everything else at the box office this weekend.
The added bonus of seeing the movie three days before it premieres in the United States is just the icing on the cake.
Its difficult to review a film like this, especially when you know what’s going to happen in it, what’s going to happen in the sequel, and what’s going to happen in the sequel after that, and well, you get the idea. I know all the characters. I know who the bad guy is. The only thing I didn’t know about the world of Harry Potter was what watching a Quidditch match was like, or how the dormitory rooms looked. How tall is a mountain troll? These are the questions that are answered in watching a favorite book come to life on the big screen.
Newcomers to Harry Potter have no idea what I’m talking about.
Harry Potter is an orphan, left on the steps of his aunt and uncle’s house after his parents were killed. His relatives treat him like a slave, while lavishing their attention on Harry’s cousin Dudley. As Harry’s 11th birthday approaches, mail starts to arrive for him; an odd occurrence, because as far as Harry knows nobody in the world cares about him. The mail, as Harry’s peculiar abilities to make odd things happen, annoys his Uncle Vernon to no end. When the mail keeps coming, Vernon flips out, sealing up the house. Of course, this fails. Retreating to a small, storm swept island, Harry and his relatives take up residence in a small shack. It is there that he celebrates his 11th birthday, and his world changes.
Harry, cold and utterly miserable, receives an unexpected guest: the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hagrid tells him that he’s a wizard, the son of a witch and a wizard, and that he’s there to take Harry to school. This is a dream come true for Harry; he gets to get away from his relatives and actually learn something.
His adventures at Hogwarts make great cinema, just as they made great literature. Harry and his friends, in their search for the mystical Sorcerer’s Stone (better known as the philosopher’s stone to fans of alchemy) go through some interesting trials. The best if these is the Quidditch match.
Quidditch is game played on broomsticks, in which two teams try and throw a ball, called a quaffle, through one of three hoops, defended by a goalie called a keeper. Meanwhile, two balls called bludgers zip around the air and try and knock players off their brooms. The players are defended by teammates called beaters, armed with short clubs. And if this isn’t complicated enough, there’s a tiny ball called the golden snitch, which flies around the field incredibly fast. The snitch is hunted by players’ seekers, who have to be quick, daring, and really good at flying. The Quidditch match is by far the most exciting scene in the movie, with incredible effects and heart pounding action that makes me wish it were a real game.
The really great thing about the movie is that you don’t have to have read the books to enjoy the film. It’s a kid’s film, so character development for the Harry Potter novice may be less than what you’re used to, but you still understand what’s going on.
Besides, with Harry Potter a watchword among people from all walks of life and age groups, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could be really in the dark over the movie. Even if you haven’t read the books, you’re sure to know that Harry Potter is a boy wizard. The movie is about Harry Potter, the boy wizard. ‘Nuff said.
Well, not exactly. I can’t say enough about how great a job screenwriter Steven Kloves did in truncated parts of the book so that the story moves quickly enough to get through almost the entire first book without getting bogged down. It certainly is a daunting task to take characters that millions of children and adults hold near and dear and create their story on the screen.
Chris Columbus deserves a lot of credit for remaining faithful to book. The best thing I can say about the movie is when I saw everything up there in full color; it was just as I imagined it. The way the characters — the actors, sorry — interact and go through the situations that were once just words on a page.
Columbus had a lot of help, though, from the wonderfully casting. The actors chosen to play the kids, unknowns and newcomers, mostly, are great. Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry, only had one other role before this. Rupert Grint IS Ron Weasley, Harry’s best friend and partner in crime. Aside form a school play, he is a total newcomer to acting. Emma Watson gives a brilliant performance as Hermione Granger, the bookish gal pal of Ron and Harry.
The professors are spot on. Alan Rickman is scarily cool as Professor Severus Snape, the potions teacher who Harry is sure is evil. Dame Maggie Smith lends her considerable talents, as do Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, and John Cleese.
The effects are spectacular. The castle, the Quidditch field, the surrounding Dark Forest — the sets are amazingly detailed and wondrous.
The movie is wonderful. That’s all I can say. It’s a fun, lighthearted adventure that fans and newcomers alike will be sure to love. People of all ages, not just kids, will be able to relate not only to the characters, but also to the spirit behind them. It is great to be able to be a kid again, and to be able to dip into a world of magic and adventure is a pleasant escape as well as an excellent film.
