Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Dir: Chris Columbus. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith. It was never going to live up to the hype, was it? After four books, countless cash ins and a ridiculous amount of media coverage, Mr Potter’s first year at Hogwarts surely couldn’t satisfy an audience that expected all too much from it. Could it? No. Of course not. And it’s mainly due to its’ director, because script and acting wise it’s all mighty fine stuff. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco are about as good as child actors get, and the adults, especially Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris and Alan Rickman, are superb. But they get far too little screen time. In the film, Snape is all too muted, never a really plausible candidate for the villain, though Rickman does his best with the short amount of time given, and Dumbledore hardly appears at all. Coltrane is amazing as Hagrid, the film’s real/only emotional centre, and whilst around more than the others, it’s still not enough. Yes, Chris Columbus has been mainly faithful to his source material, but perhaps too much so. Whilst obviously not all moments from the book feature, the most important events are all there, if skimped over all too quickly. And this is the main problem - it

feels like too much has been forced in to the film’s fairly long running time, and whilst it didn’t seem overlong, much of it felt just too rushed. So there’s a brief segment with the Dursley’s, a swift introduction to Hogwarts, a couple of fleeting appearances from Nearly Headless Nick, one quick Quidditch match, a few snapshot’s from a couple of lessons, and, of course, the gradual deduction of who wishes to steal the philosophers stone. But it’s all so hurried that it never feels that involving. Visually it is amazing, with Hogwart’s looking stunning throughout, and Fluffy, Norbert, the troll and the various flying sequences fitting seamlessly in to the action, but special effects can never make up for the lack of involvement and interest in what’s taking place. But the biggest problem the movie has is in its climatic ending. Getting past Fluffy, the chess game sequence, and Harry’s confrontation with Voldermort seem all too easy, and you never really feel that Harry is in any real danger. And then the film is suddenly over before you know it. Leaving this hack questioning, well, is that it? Is that what the last two and a half hours have been leading too? Even without the hype this would have felt disappointing, oddly paced and weakly directed. And it frustrates, because it clearly could have been so much better, if only a talented director had made the movie. Instead of the man behind Bicentennial Man and Stepmom. What were Ms Rowling and Warner Bros. thinking when they agreed that he was the perfect man for the job? Alex Finch.

GC(uk) Index     Site Map     Links     Message Board     About Us     Link To Us     Adverts    Add a Link           GC(uk) Email        Advanced Site Search

Let Spyonit.com notify you when this page changes!

Search this site! Just type in what you want to find and click the search button.