I first purchased the Harry Potter books for my son, but then started to read them myself, and I was hooked. I loved the books, which are well written and fleshed out.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the movie, although it IS a wonderful movie.

I didn't expect the movie to be as good as the book, as I know that it's not possible to "film" a book in total, but I was surprised when I found myself a little disappointed in a movie I had been anticipating seeing for so long. Maybe I was expecting too much, maybe it was the heightened feeling of anticipation, I’m not sure why I felt let down after the seeing the movie, but I did.

The movie begins, as the book does, on Privet drive. It fairly well establishes Harry's history, and how he goes to live with his mother's family. When it comes time to go to Hogwarts, the movie stays somewhat faithful to the book, but has to cut some of the funnier scenes due to time constraints.

Harry's trip to Diagon alley with Hagrid and the scene at Gringott's are well done, although again there are scenes missing which I think would have benefited the picture.

The rest of the movie is fairly faithful to the book, although if you've read the book you'll find yourself saying "wait, there's something missing here" fairly often. There's not enough missing to make the movie unbelievable, or unlikable, but the reviews that are stating that it stays completely faithful to the book are off.

The only think I really didn't like is when they changed the ending, when Harry fights Voldemort. They didn't change it much, but enough to make you puzzled as to why, as it doesn’t really change the ending. It may have been so they could show off some special effects, but it did leave me puzzled.

Let me say here that casting Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid and Alan Rickman as Professor Snape was inspirational. Coltrane exactly fits my idea of who and what Hagrid is, and is one of the most wonderful parts of the movie, while Rickman makes Snape like no other actor could.

The other casting was fine as well, and Daniel Radcliffe did an outstanding job as Harry. He really made you believe, while you were watching the movie, and for a non-veteran actor to make you believe in a character this much, that's saying something.

All in all, this movie was probably about a C+ or a B-. Pleasant, well done, excellent effects and characters, and if you haven't read the book, you'll love it. If you have read the book, you'll like it. Either way, the movie will (when it comes out on video) quickly enter my family’s film collection to be watched over and over.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12