Harry Potter, the year’s most eagerly awaited film. Having read all four Potter books several times over, I was just as eager to see the movie version as anyone else. Well, I finally did see it yesterday.
Im not going to discuss the story here cos I would have to assume the vast majority of you would be no strangers to it. But before I get down to actual reviewing, im gonna give u a lil insight into the minds of the average Potter fan.
Potter Mania:
Potter mania as we know, has swept all over the world. And My lil cousins , in India are no exception. They are DIEHARD Potter fans now. ( and as the one who introduced the book to them, it does look like ive earned their undying devotion..at least until the mania wears off !! )
The other day, my aunt, trying desperately to get the kids ready for school on time, was informed by her six yr old son , that if he did have to go to school at all, it would have to be Hogwarts !! It took a lotta cajoling to get him to board the school bus that day ..making my aunt almost regret havin read the books to him faithfully every night !!
Another one, a 13 yr old sports nut, who considered reading for the ’’nerds’’, ( that of course was before Potter ), now declares his favorite sport is quidditch, not football, not even cricket !! He spends over an hour each day religiously poring over the books. When his mom insists he do his homework first , he sighs and makes statements like’’ oh, muggles wont understand anyway ’’ !!!
AND all of them can quote harry potter verbatim besides being able to recite all the names and stuff. ( as I think most kids the world over will be able to ! )
ANd they’re all insanely jealous that ive been to see the movie ( You see its scheduled to release in India only in april).
The Movie:
And now about the movie. Harry Potter & the philosopher’s stone is as true to the book as I suppose it is possible to be. Every scene, every character, why even some of the dialogues are straight from the book.
The movie has some really good scenes like the Quidditch match, The encounter with the three headed dog Fluffy, the first flying lesson etc, But the highlight of the film is its climax -the quest for the Philosopher’s stone, the key to immortality. Harry, Ron and Hermione racing against time and Voldemort to find the precious stone.
The real life wizard’s chess match, with the gigantic chess pieces moving across the checkered floor, and then destroying each other ( Yeah, in Wizard’s chess thats what happens instead of the pieces being knocked off the board !! ) is magnificently reproduced. As is the confrontation with Lord Voldemort.
The Cast:
I wonder if there are any awards for the casting director cos those responsible for the casting of this film definitely deserve an award. It would have been a disaster if they didnt quite turn out onscreen as we had imagined . Daniel Radcliffe ( harry potter), Rupert Grint( Ron weasley) and Emma watson ( Hermione Granger) as the three pivotal characters are simply brilliant ! With all the charm and innocence of young actors, though thankfully minus the overacting that usually comes along with it.
Robbie Coltrane as the enormous, lovable Hagrid is near perfect. As are most of the characters, including the snobbish Draco Malfoy( I dont know the actor’s name but he’s done a good job ).
The movie has a host of non human characters as well, the goblins at gringotts, the troll at hogwarts and the ghosts (Sir Nicholas a.k.a headless nick was there, and the Bloody baron makes a fleeting appearance but sadly Peeves the poltergeist, the school pest was missing, and
with him a few laughs too )
The verdict:
As is said earlier, the book is a near perfect reproduction of the book. You know , sometimes, perfection can be a lil boring. This will probably sound sacrilegious to staunch Potter fans, but I havta confess, I was a wee bit bored at times . I found everything a lil too predictive.
A movie has its technical and other limitations and it would not be possible to include everything in the book.But, in the process, it loses something of the magical flavor that elevates Harry potter the book to the cult status it enjoys today.
The film is about two and a half hours long , too long maybe for the younger viewer ( though all the kids at the show were totally enraptured all through the show. It was the older crowd , me included who were fidgeting a lil !! )
The humor which is very much a part of the book is not as pronounced here, though Ron does get in a few good one liners.
But then it must be remembered that its not easy to make a movie based on a bestselling book, and when the book has created the kinda sensation that, JK Rowling’s books have, it is almost a herculean task that the director faces.
Therefore it must be said that director Chris Columbus has done a good job. Cos even if it doesnt quite conjure up the magical feel of the book, at least it doesnt let you down badly.
Its a good movie, and kids just seem to love it.
I’d like to add that a few scenes towards the end, might just be a lil scary for really young kids. ( u see there were a few scattered frightened cries). But it wouldnt really matter in the long run, cos they know harry potter and his friends will triumph in the end !!!