What’s at the Movies

By Ian Pugh

‘Harry Potter’ has magic
all its own…

With all the hype that surrounds Harry Potter—books, toys and every other merchandise available—could it be that the movie is excellent? It’s very refreshing to see anything live up to the hype, and Harry Potter is no exception.

For the five or six of you who haven’t read the book, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is the son of a pair of wizards who meet an untimely end. Their deaths are at the hand of Voldemort, an evil conjurer who has destroyed all who have stood in his way… except for Harry. To protect the baby boy, Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris) sends him to live with his non-magician aunt and uncle, who treat him miserably for years. When he is 11, Harry is confronted by Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), the intimidating gamekeeper for Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is told of his past, and immediately takes leave for the school. There he meets his new friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). All is not well at Hogwart’s, however, as the three students come to suspect one teacher, Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), of searching for a mysterious object known as the Sorcerer’s Stone.

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is a film in the classic tradition of the great adventure movies that grab you and refuse to let you go. It has as much excitement as any trumped-up action film, but it visibly has a heart. One cannot help but feel lighthearted as the film goes on, for it knows exactly what the audience wants. It is one of the best films of the year, because it has everything that the whole family will enjoy: adventure, sensitivity, humor and imagination. The children will love it, and the adults will be able to sit through it because it respects their intelligence.

Special effects work to this movie’s advantage, but it wouldn’t be worth anything if the cast couldn’t get into their roles. However, the actors love the material enough to give the characters the right amount of gusto needed for their parts. Every  performance is noteworthy. Respected actors like Rickman and Harris have yet another proud addition to their résumé, and newcomers like Grint and Watson will certainly be heard from again in the future. Radcliffe, of course, makes the perfect Harry.

Harry Potter’s first film will be followed by several sequels over the next few years. The producers may even pass the torch of Harry to other actors to keep the series alive, as with the James Bond films. However it happens, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is a benchmark for sequels to come, and for modern family movies in general.