Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Analysis/Review
Preface:
Re-watched it in blu-ray on a 4k TV.
Harry Potter fan.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first of the eight film series. Did we know it would be eight when it started, or how big this franchise would get? Not really. It was just an adaptation to a beloved children’s novel series that was still being written. Did it become a beloved children’s movie? Yeah, pretty much.
Likes:
- The whimsy. This is like an x-factor or something, but the movie has some child like aspect to it. Well. Obviously — it is primarily a kid’s movie.
- The casting is on point. The actors have become the characters in my mind, for the most part. Especially Alan Rickman.
- Alan Rickman gets his own bullet point because he owned the role. Could we have imagined Snape as anyone BUT him? No. No, we couldn’t.
- Streamlined introduction to the world. Explained concepts without being that dry.
- Although, going forward, the style did not remain the same, it was nice seeing the more traditional Wizard/Witch style attire and costumes. It felt like a blast-from-the-past school and culture. Which it kind of is.
- The intro sequence, like everything before magic is introduced. It explains Harry very well and shows how he isn’t a normal kid. It is also so absurdly amazing at points — the owls and such. It is very quaint.
- The supporting character cast was fun. Hermione and Ron and the other classmates felt well integrated into the cast and world.
Dislikes:
- The pacing. It drags. It felt too long and without drive. I can’t really pinpoint why it felt slow, considering there is not much fluff to it — the ‘mystery’ is pretty integral to the plot but the way it is scripted or something feels very tired.
- Quidditch. I don’t really like Quidditch that much, so these scenes are always the most boring to me, but VFX-wise they don’t hold up that well.
- This is from retrospect, seeing the other movies and seeing how the set evolved, but early on the classrooms were not that unique or detailed. Very plain and not magic-y.
- It felt hollow. I can’t explain it, but it didn’t feel like it had that much life. Although joyful in presentation, it did not feel that joyful.
Conclusion:
It is a staple children’s movie. It has humor, whimsy, and it isn’t made poorly. The acting is good and it has points that cater to both children and adults. It isn’t a great movie, nor my favorite in the series by far, but it did a damn good job setting up the franchise for later installments. Which was what it was supposed to do. I wouldn’t re-watch it alone, but together with the other films it flows alright.
