There's Something Magical About Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I know this review is exceedingly belated, but when I saw that amazon.com was already accepting preorders for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I was reminded about the phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Just so we’re all clear, I saw the preorder thing and I instantly realized that I forgot to write about this tremendous movie and the history that I have with it.

Ever since I was alerted to the fact that the Harry Potter movie was coming out, I had been heavily anticipating the magical day that I would be sitting in a crappy theater chair, watching the amazing miracle flicker on the big screen. Honest to God, I woke up each day thinking how lucky I was to being one step closer to watching Harry Potter. If I had calendar, I would have been x-ing out the days in a countdown to when the movie was being released in theaters. I’ve read all 4 books, and I’ve loved them all.

After I finished the first book, I was speechless. I was truly in awe of the spectacular tale I had come across. When I read the other 3, the same emotions ensued. I felt that I had been enlightened from the simple introductions into the world of Harry Potter. I became involved in yahoo groups, websites, and mailing lists all because of the magnificent Harry Potter books. I was, and still am, thirsty for every bit of knowledge that I could get my hands on. Anything, and I mean absolutely anything that I could learn, I did. J.K. Rowling’s exact address, her career, her thoughts and beliefs that went into Potter, and basically everything related to Harry Potter.

I’m a superfan. I probably will be a superfan as long as Harry Potter is around. I love Harry Potter, and I love the movie. I understood that it would be a tremendously hard task, to translate the book into movie. With the understanding that the first Harry Potter movie would be a challenging task to pull off, my expectations were right around where they should’ve been. I wasn’t expecting too much, but I was expecting a good job. And, to say the least, this movie was a good job. That’s an understatement. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was a tremendous job, a masterpiece if you will. Now, maybe I’m unique, and other people didn’t think it was that great. But, if you’re like me, and you knew what to expect, and you understand how tough it was to convert something like Quidditch onto the big screen, than you probably loved Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

When there was a month before the movie was being released, I ordered my tickets. I needed to see this movie. It wasn’t a wish; it was a necessity that I got to see Harry Potter on the big screen. And when that day finally arrived, I rocketed over to my nearest AMC Theater, 2 hours in advance, and sat there with a wide-eyed expression spread across my face.

Chris Columbus’s, or shall I say J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, tells the story of a young Harry Potter (Daniel Radciffe). In Harry’s world of witches and muggles (normal people), Harry has been stuck inside the horrifying Dursley residence. Harry is treated inhumanely as every bit of the family’s income and generosity is donated to Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling), his cousin. During a visit to the zoo on Dudley’s birthday, Harry starts to learn about his magical powers when he somehow speaks to the snake and makes a pane of glass vanish. As the days pass from his visit to the zoo, Harry begins to discover more and more about his hereditary powers. Sure enough, on the day of his 11th birthday, a letter is delivered to Harry. His parents seize the letter, and many others that soon follow. At last Harry is saved from his horrendous family by Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and is brought to Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry soon learns about the truth to his parents’ deaths and his own magical strength. At Hogwart’s Harry gains instant fame, and he’s quick to befriend two fellow students, Ron (Rupert Grint), the pureblooded wizard, and Hermione (Emma Watson), the muggle wizard. Although Harry is a celebrity for the most part, there is one kid, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) who can’t stand him. A rivalry quickly develops between the two.

Harry is quickly becoming an insider to the wizard world, and this movie follows his life at Hogwart’s. Harry’s triumphs, adventures, mishaps, friendships, and arch-rivalries are all covered in this 2 and a half hour masterpiece.

Personally, I think this movie is a winner because it was appealing to the eye, and it was wonderfully entertaining. I couldn’t believe that it had only been 2 and a half hours at the end. It seemed like it had just begun, when in truth, it was over. The reason that I liked it so much is because Chris Columbus did a great job with the adaptation. He made everything come alive through his portrayal and accuracy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

When I learned that the book was becoming a movie, I was ecstatic, but I was also a little worried because I liked having it all left to my imagination, and I didn’t want some hotshot director to ruin that for me. I kept thinking how great it all seemed in my mind, and I had a real hard time imagining it on the big screen. The main thing that I couldn’t imagine on the big screen was Quidditch. It’s an elaborate sport that’s played in midair with flying brooms, and ring hoops and a golden snitch. I was like, “there’s no way that they can put that on the big screen, it’s too hard.” I felt that way until I saw the movie. The way that Quidditch was done amazed me the most. I was flabbergasted. Quidditch turned out to be one of the most satisfying things that was adapted on the big screen. The effects were superb, and I think that it was at that point that I thought, “Wow, Chris Columbus really did a great job with this one. He pulled it off with flying colors.” That’s the truth, I felt exultant with the end result. It’s like when you buy something, like a computer or a DVD player, and you know you made the right decision after you’ve used it for a little while. That’s all it took for me, I watched Harry Potter for a little bit, and I knew that I hadn’t wasted a penny on my ticket.

The story of Harry Potter is brilliant. The idea of a kid wizard isn’t that special, but the way that J.K. Rowling wrote the story is tremendous. The books were such an amazing international success for the exact reason that I just named. J.K. Rowling wrote a story with interesting characters and adventures and twists, and the end result is really magic. The idea of a hidden school for the underground practice of witchcraft and wizardry is so original and smart that it attracted all kinds of audiences.

There are so many characters in the movie, and they were all unique and special in their own ways. The characters always kept you guessing, and you couldn’t help but develop an emotional attachment to them on various levels. I loved the idea of 3 curious, thrill-seeking kids and their quests at Hogwart’s. The kids shared similar passions and goals, but each of them had different and intriguing qualities. You’ve got Harry, who is wholly good and kind-hearted, and wants nothing more than an end to the madness that is his life and his lightning bolt shaped scar that is smack-dab in the middle of his forehead. You’ve got Ron who is mostly childish and immature, but loyal to Harry at all times. The last member of the triple alliance is Hermione, the brains of the group. She is mature and brilliant for a young girl like herself. There are many more characters including: the humble Dumbledore (Richard Harris), the mean Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), and the crazy Nearly Headless Nick (John Cleese), but there are just too many to get into. Please forgive me.

This movie earned much acclaim and became an instant classic in the eyes of many kids and adults. Harry Potter has already broken many records. The first record that was broken happens to be the opening weekend record set in the US. Another cool fact that is that Harry Potter is number 2 in the international box-office with around 900 million dollars.

The exact formula to its success will never be known for sure, but I can tell you this: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone would never have done so well without the wonderful acting, directing, producing, and in my mind, writing work done by J.K. Rowling. If you haven’t seen this movie, I can urge you enough. The term, "a must see" gets thrown around a lot, but in this case, you can’t throw it around at all. Harry Potter truly is a must see. In fact, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the must see motion picture event of the last decade, maybe even the past century.

So, if you like fun filled adventure movies, or the Harry Potter series, or just a great movie in general, you have to do yourself a favor and see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If I were president I’d make seeing this movie mandatory.