Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I thought this movie was excellent! It completely followed the book and was done wonderfully. Even the really tough scenes (i.e. the Quiditch match) were done beautifully. For anyone who loved the books, go and see this movie. You'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: The Harry Potter Experience
Review: This movie was my my favorite movie I'd ever seen! The set was great and so were the actors. I think it is truly amazing that the girl who played Hermoine Granger had never done a professional play or movie before. I hope they use the same cast for Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie adaption!
Review: I was a little concerned that I would be disappointed with this movie. Most books that have been adapted to movies have been bad and I didn't want that to happen to Harry Potter. I watched it over the weekend and was very impressed with how closely it stuck to the book. I really enjoyed it and there was not one part of the movie that I was disappointed in. The actors really brought the characters to life. I especially liked Hagrid. I'm glad that the movie time was not cut down. The 2 1/2 hours almost seemed like it wasn't enough. I will definitely be buying this on DVD and will probably go watch it again in the theatre.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: First a wonderful book then a wonderful movie... I waited in line for about an hour to get tickets to see this long awaited movie and would have waited longer. Chris Columbus did a marvelous job on this story. He broght to life a charecter that has captured the world. I can't wait for the second movie and the 5th book.Dan
Rating: 
Summary: A major disappointment
Review: As a great fan of the books, I was looking forward to the film, particularly after seeing the trailers, which perfectly advertized the film's best asset - the sets. Unfortunately, the acting was poor; the children acted as if they had been plucked directly from a scholl pantomime production (they had obviously been chosen for looks, not ability - although Rupert Grint put in a worthy first time performance) and the adult actors, Snape and Madam Hooch apart, were wooden. Importantly, Richard Harris did not convey the eccentric personality that Dumbledore displays in the books and McGonagall was far too sentimental to be the fear-inducing deputy headmistress that all English Schoolchildren know so well. The movie missed a big opportunity - this is a great story and a great concept that was made for film. Unfortunately the director was too obsessed with 'bringing the book alive'. He certainly did that - with wonderful sets and actors which looked just like their descriptions, but the story was rushed and should have been completely re-written so as to be told within two hours, with fully develped characters and scenes. Even as a Harry Potter fan, I didn't expect every detail from the book to be included - what I expected was a great story. The key problem here is that Ms Rowling was given too much control over the movie, its screenplay and its production. Of course, Warner Bros' promise to be faithful to the book won the company the lucrative film rights and without this promise, JK may not have sold them. If Warner do not want the sequels to fizzle out - they need to banish her from the set and go back to making movies - not the "film of the story tape of the book" as the New York times put it. Mrs Rowling should concentrate on what she does best - writing wonderful stories.
Rating: 
Summary: True to the book...
Review: For starters, this is a review intended for adults. Those who lived in fear that the movie would do the book injustice, or would bastardize the plot, or that schlock-artist director Christopher Columbus would turn this into "Home Alone," those fears are thankfully for naught. As Richard Roeper said, this is The Wizard of Oz for the new century, with technological wizardry bringing to life a story of magic, and, at heart, an 11-year-old boy who goes from being the strange, abused boy living under the stairs to a triumphant first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All of the wonderful characters from the book are here, with generally dead-on acting. Despite the length, some parts seem a bit short. I could have used another scene showing Snape to be a scary fellow to set up the later scenes. I could have used snappier editing towards the end, when the crowd started to get a little restless. McGonagall is wonderful, as is headmaster Dumbledore, and the enormous Hagrid (is he really that big, or is it a special effect?). Hermione and Ron are also dead-on. Harry is a little less exciting than my imagination pictured him while reading the book, put perhaps it is asking too much for any 11-year-old actor to portray one of the most beloved characters in literary history. I frankly felt that the Dursley's were fairly poorly acted. They were quite a bit meaner in the book. In the end, it was Columbus's lack of imagination that both helps and hurts this movie. There is nothing original about the movie -- it simply faithfully reproduces the book. But books and movies are different animals, requiring different pacing and a different sensibility. For the most part, this movie succeeds, but where it doesn't, you start hoping for it to hurry up, especially if you've already read the book... One other complaint I have is of the Quidditch match...Despite spending $125 million on this movie, the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz looked more real...The Quidditch match, while exciting, looked fake. I imagine children watching the movie won't care, but discerning adults might simply get dizzy with all of the obviously fake computer-generated skies whizzing by. All in all, a wonderful effort. One giant step above mediocrity, one step below true greatness. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Very Best!!!!!
Review: Not since George Lucas's Star Wars has there been such a fantastic storyline. The world that J.K. Rowlings has created was transalted to the big screen in perfection. I was disappointed by the missing scenes but all books are edited do to time constraints and I got over it quickly. Everyone young and old must see this movie and read her books.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: The movie was absolutely amazing. It could not have been truer to the book and my own imagination. Whether you have read the books or not it is easy to follow. Chris Columbus is a magician himself and has interpreted details that could only compare him to the greatness of George Lucas and Steven Speilberg. J.K. Rowlings created a world that is second only to the magic brought to us by Star Wars. This is a must see movie. And it must be seen more than once!
Rating:
Summary: Needing some improvements.
Review: Personally this was a pretty good movie. But it never stood a chance against Lord of the Rings. They cut out too much, put some stuff in that was too kiddy. Overall they need to follow the book better than they have.
Rating:
Summary: A Magical Movie
Review: This movie is a film for all ages! It had every element for a good movie, and it follows the book almost exactly!
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