Owlin' Success? (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (DVD))

Member Name: buttonman

Product:	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (DVD)
Date:	16/11/01 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High Production Values

Disadvantages: Snotty stage school kids,longer than the last ice age

Having only dabbled in the books and indeed in the black arts I went to the Harry Potter film with no preconceptions .Of course the hype is unavoidable with $100 million and six more films resting on this debut outing they were always going to make this something special - and it was albeit only in places.

PLOT

I won't detail too much of the plot because frankly there isn't much to it. Basically Tom Brown's school days with wizardry and toy spin offs. The film opens with a baby being left at a suburban home by three over acting luvvies. Soon we flash forward to the boy approaching his eleventh birthday. His adopted family make him live in a cupboard and wear raggedy clothes - clearly a job for the social services there.

On his eleventh birthday young Harry gets invited to join Hogwarts, a school for magic folk. After getting his cash from a bank run by grasping goblins (aren't they all!) and his wand from John Hurt, Harry joins the Hogwarts Express at platform 9.75 as my keyboard doesn't do fractions!. On the train he meets his new friends Ron and Hermione and buys their love with sweets.

At the school a hat that talks like Leslie 'Ooohh hello' Phillips puts them all in the same house. Little time is spent swotting as they've got snooping to do - pesky kids!. They stumble upon a trap door guarded by Fluffy the three-headed dog and soon learn of the titular stone. This can re-enliven even the nearest dead people and Harry thinks his parents' killer Vodemort may be after it. After an age there is a final showdown between Harry and a two faced teacher. Will he survive for the next six films? Or will the franchise die along with him. Place your bets?

THOUGHTS

Well it looks great and has excellent special effects and actors. But enough about the 'Lord of the Rings' trailer what about Potter! Well he potters on too long! Nearly three hours in the company of dozens of foetuse
s not good planning especially with a ninety minute plot.

The sets are great with the hidden London street a highlight. Hogwarts was well done too with it's transparent roof and shifting stairs. No expense has been spared from the lavish sets to the hordes of extras to the special effects. There is however a lack of warmth and humour with many scenes tacked on presumably to match the book but at the expense of pace and urgency.

The three main leads are good with Daniel Ratcliffe being the weakest in the lead role. Most of his acting involves wide-eyed wonderment and 'Wows'. His two pals do better in more charismatic roles, as does the baddie Malfroy.

Of the teachers Dame Maggie Smith really hams it up with an accent straight off shortbread tin.Richard Harris mumbles through as the headmaster and Alan Rickman does his patented baddie bit. We also get very brief appearances from John Cleese as a ghost and Zoe 'pay me more' Wanamaker as a fleeting flying teacher.

One of the highlights is the Quiddich match, which is handball on broomsticks. This was well done but what a rotten sport ? catch the gold ball to win? No chance of Sky Sports picking that up! This was well done and although it still looked fake the speed and action was good.

Overall this had the making of a great kids film with perhaps enough to keep adults interested but sadly it fell short or should that be long for me. It rambled on for an age with the school and the plot not surfacing until an hour had passed. I'm sure the fans of the books will love it with a lot of the references going over my head but as a stand alone film it didn't quite do it for me. There is a lot to enjoy such as the paintings that move and the animated newspaper but overall it's a triumph of style over substance.

Summary: