Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone-Swedish Sock Puppet Theater
If you know nothing about Harry Potter then let me welcome you either to Western Civilization, which is cool, or welcome you out of your bunker. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first of what will, of course, be a vast, vast sea of Harry Potter movies. I suspect that long after anyone reading this review is alive, there will be some form of Harry Potter entertainment.
Chances are high that you know the basics of the film. Potter just seems to be a 11 year old, but in fact is a wizard, who parents are wizards because, this sort of thing is always a matter of genetics, as is all talent, incase you don’t know. In this regard the story and film has much in common with The Incredibles-as incredible as that may be. You see in Potter’s world one can not become a wizard or be made into a wizard, no you must be born into it. Now, before I beat this point home too hard, it is important to note that characters in the movie are from a mixture of backgrounds, so the message is, ultimately, is not that only the British nobility can become wizard or the such. I would be writing about that for days and you would never finish the review. We have no need to beat Rowling up on that point. I only wish there were mechanisms in place within the universe of her books to allot for mere mortals to elevate themselves via hard work.
Potter discovers that he is a wizard and is taken to what is essentially a school for wizards called Hogwarts where he learns magic and discovers that his parents were killed by a very powerful wizard named Lord Voldemort. Interestingly enough he somehow survived a murder attempt by Voldemort as a infant. Powerful mojo indeed Mr. Potter. This first movie clearly serves as an introduction to the series and would have been wildly successful had it been done with sock puppets in Swedish and translated.
If you a Dungeons and Dragons sort you will undoubtedly be pleased that you now have your particular crack in a visual form. The story is well crafted and holds your attention. The visuals effects are quite good and the acting is overall solid. One can’t really hit these young actors too hard, because they are all very young and the weights on their backs were pretty heavy with such a valuable cash cow in tow. By the way Daniel Radcliffe, while I am sure he is a nice kid and I mean that, he does seems okay, but, unless I am misinformed, he is also the son of a well-known casting director. Might of helped? Maybe a bit? Maybe? He probably is not the best choice for this role and it impacted the final product. Again, none of this matters, Potter could have been played by a sock puppets speaking Swedish and the film would have probably still set records.
Story A-
Acting C+ (I think Radcliffe seems like a nice kid, but he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a lead. That said, he is more of a lead than, say, Jason Biggs.)
Visuals A- (Good visual effects but with a budget of somewhere around $110- $120 million dollars they should have been better.)
Originality/Innovation A
Enjoyability Grade B+
Home Theater/HD Factor A (What a great movie for showing how great HD animation can look.)
Overall Grade A-
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