Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 

So here it is, the first installment of J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful series about a young wizard.  It’s undoubtedly the most anticipated movie in years, with six more movies hinging on the success of this one.  The good news is, the movie is spectacularly well made, with great performances from its cast of all-star thespians and some of the most luscious set pieces you’ve ever seen.  The bad news is, it’s seriously lacking in one key department, and that alone, I believe, will be what prevents Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from being the all time box office champ like some are predicting.  It’s still a very good first step, though.

For the first ten years of his life, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has lived with the Dursleys, his mean and horribly narrow-minded aunt and uncle.  They have a son Dudley, who’s the most atrociously spoiled kid you’ve ever seen  (think Veruca Salt times ten).  They despise Harry so much that they make him sleep in a utility closet underneath the stairs.  Then on his 11^th birthday, Harry receives a visit from a gentle giant named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), who informs Harry that he’s a wizard, and he has been accepted into Hogwart’s, the most prestigious school of wizardry in the country. 

At Hogwart’s, he meets benevolent headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris, in a reprise of sorts of his character from Gladiator), and makes friends with Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and bookworm Hermione Granger (Emma Watson).  He also, however, discovers that he has enemies as well, most notably Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), the professor of potions who has it out for Harry the second he arrives.  Not all wizards are good, he discovers, and few fit his profile for a bad wizard better than Snape.  What is he really up to? 

Film snobs like me groaned upon hearing that Chris Columbus would be directing Harry Potter.  The man who made his name with Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire and, um, Bicentennial Man seemed a poor choice as capturing the book’s essence without coating it in sap. (Rowling’s first choice for director was Terry Gilliam; my first choice was Tim Burton)  However, I must give credit where credit is due, and Columbus turns in his best work here.  He was incredibly faithful to the source material, down to the last detail.  There were a few scenes I wish had made the final cut (I’m particularly upset about the omission of the nasty ghost Peeves, voiced by Young Ones cast member Rik Mayall), but with a current running time of 152 minutes, I understand the need to streamline things a bit, if you can call a two and a half hour movie streamlined.

I’ve never known Chris Columbus to be an actor’s director - a terrible phrase, really, since it really means letting actors run amok, ala Mike Leigh - but he coaxed some marvelous performances out of this cast of UK superstars (even John Hurt signed on for the small part of wand shop owner Ollivander).  Rickman steals the movie as Snape, oozing menace but also being riotously funny at the same time.  The three child leads were strong as well.  The movie doesn’t work without a good performance from Radcliffe, and he proves himself more than capable of carrying the movie (unlike, say, Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace).  Emma Watson also shines as Hermione, though I’d argue she’s way too cute for the part.  The Hermione in the book was buck toothed and not all that attractive, whereas Watson looks like a stunner in the making. 

Here’s the problem with Harry Potter, and it’s something I’d never expect from Columbus; it doesn’t have much heart.  This is a man who’s made his entire career pulling the heartstrings until they snap and, when unsure what to do, turned up the Mush Factor.  This time he was so focused on getting it all technically accurate that he left out the most important ingredient.  John Williams’ score was also overbearing, with a refrain that borrowed a lot from his “Imperial March” from The Empire Strikes Back. 

Given the ridiculous hype surrounding this movie, I would say that Columbus & Co. have made a well crafted, perfectly competent movie.  There is room for improvement, however, and since the next book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is probably the weakest of the four released so far, let’s hope they get it right next time.