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Movie Review — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
By Jim Sabatini
Kids and young-at-heart adults will not be disappointed with the magically adventuresome Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which will no doubt rekindle the pleasure of going to the movies in today's distressing world.
George Lucas's new Star Wars episodes may not prove to be the most profitable franchise of the early 21st century, what with Chris Columbus’ adroit direction of J.K. Rowling's first book on wizardry, and the eagerly anticipated Lord of the Rings trilogy to begin less than a week before Christmas.
Only muggle types will resist the chance to see, or try to keep their mesmerized kids away from the opening shows of Harry at their local multiplex. It's a film which almost demands a repeat viewing, and probably not just for the die-hard fans of Rowling's treasured tome.
Before the opening credits, the orphaned infant Harry is transported to his callous aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, by an aerial motorbike. And Harry's admission to the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft invites the captivating charm which the rest of Columbus’ film delivers on. Daniel Radcliffe is the 11-year-old Harry, who provides The Sorcerer's Stone with engaging, mischievous and brave elements of his personality. His young, bespectacled Harry becomes more intelligent through Steve Kloves' surprisingly sharp screenplay.
Robbie Coltrane is Hagrid the Caretaker, the gentle, if brusque looming fellow who imparts to Harry the terrible news of his parents’ demise. We feel for Harry because of the machinations of the nefarious Lord Voldemont after the Dursleys' austere emotional restraints on him.
Columbus proves that he is able make us believe in the levitating world beyond the banality of the misguided, slanted humans. A magical tour that ensues takes Harry into the Diagon Alley shops. That's where he'll buy his wand from John Hurt's cheery Mr. Ollivander. He can't help getting a rush from how the other apprentice wizards desire the high-tech Nimbus 2000, the latest flying broomstick, while peering in the store.
The CGI effects add to the elaborate, lush designs and photography as Harry reaches Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Harry and Hagrid have a fiery brolly struggle in this endeavor, which is displayed vividly by Columbus and his filmmakers.
Harry Potter doesn't rely on the Hollywood way; British authenticity—from the settings to the cast and the majority of the crew—goes a long way. The end result is gratifying, as the veneer and sentiment never reaching a cloying state, while the emotional impact realizes what Ms. Rowling did for her faithful readers.
Of course, modifications and character omissions have been made for a film that could never reach the level of sophistication of the book—as is clear from where the jagged thunderbolt scar is seen on Harry's forehead.
There is fine youthful camaraderie among Harry, Emma Watson's Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint's Ron Weasley. The sly, imperious manner of Watson works well with Grint's bluntness. One of the best chills in Harry comes in the Devil's Snare with Hermione's application of coursework in Potions, Spells and Transfigurations. Even Weasley is quite appreciative of her skills under pressure.
Two of the memorably orchestrated set pieces, with terrific work done by lenser John Seale and designer Stuart Craig, included a lethal wizard chess match and a game of Quidditch that Harry plays. It's on turbo-powered broomsticks, and can best be described as an acrobatic version of soccer and basketball.
There may not be many surprises in store for Rowling's devout readers or the more alert viewers, but there are a few unsettling moments, not unlike the same effect one gets from Steven Spielberg's discordant, yet imaginatively vibrant A.I.
As part of the adult British cast, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman are ideal as Hogwarts instructors McGonagall and Snape, who can teach one "how to bottle death." Fiona Shaw, Harry Melling and Richard Griffiths fit the dastardly, feared Dursleys. Richard Harris as the sagely headmaster Dumbledore hooks in with delight and sometimes dread. It's hard to forget the quick spectral appearance of John Cleese's Nearly Headless Nick and Julie Walters' delightfully unpleasant Mrs. Weasley. Think of David Copperfield integrated with a somewhat more foreboding Wizard of Oz.
With swift editing, smart storytelling and amusing, nuanced characters, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone stands the test of never letting audiences drift. And the more difficult to please adults won't be able to dismiss the elegant production, which includes great use of cathedrals and schools in Gloucester and Oxford. Columbus even pays homage to what Ridley Scott and Alfred Hitchcock have brought in indelible works like Alien and The Birds.
John Williams handles the musical chores of conducting the brass and string sounds with the enthusiasm of a reanimated wizard; there's no doubt that the spirit of a young Indiana Jones is felt. And, like Lucas' penultimate space opera saga or Columbus' Home Alone, which has become a perennial holiday favorite, the director looks to have set the enchanting, exhilarating adventures of Harry Potter in motion with a force sufficient to captivate.
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