Oooooh, it's a tough one! (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (DVD))

Member Name: Bridgend boy

Product:	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (DVD)
Date:	12/11/01 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sticks closely to the book, Great acting, Great locations and sets

Disadvantages: Not enough detail

Well, the wait is over. It's here at last. I went to see the film last night along withmost of the country it seems. Is it worth the hype? Yes I think it is, mostly.

The look of the film is fantastic. The school is perfect and the sets are excellent. It's almost exactly as I had imagined it.
The acting is also superb. Robbie Coltrane was born to play Hagrid it seems and I think the young girl who plays Hermione must be the living incarnation of the character. Both Ron and Harry are also great and Richard Harris as Dumbeldore shines through in all his scenes.
The plot sticks very closely to the book and as such the film is two and a half hour long. However, the time flys by and it's over before you know it. All the major scenes are there but the detail is slightly lacking. But then again the film would have been five hours long if they wanted to put everything in it. I thought they could have made more of Snape and Draco Malfoy, but I'm sure they'll expand on these characters in the next few films.

The effects are also very well done. The great hall, with its floating candles and pumpkins is very impressive.

All in all, a very enjoyable film that was worth the wait. Hopefully the future films will build on the characters and the effects and they will turn into a top notch series of films.

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