Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a great adventurous film well known for opening the Harry Potter series, which is known for having no bad movies in said series. Chris Columbus really knows how to introduce characters and story to both children and adults, and besides the extremely aged special effects, you could consider this a timeless opening to a classic series. The story is about Harry, a wizard who lives with his relatives, who frankly treat him like trash, always shunning him for another relative of the same age as Harry. On Harry's eleventh birthday, he is informed about himself being a wizard, and that he is famous for surviving an attack from Lord Voldemort, who was rendered powerless after attempting to attack Harry, but leaving a strange mark with the shape of a thunderbolt on Harry's forehead. He is also told he is invited to a Witchcraft and Wizardry school called "Hogwarts". So, he starts getting ready for the trip, with supplies for school and tips from his good friend Hagrid, where he discovers how famous he really is, with everyone who knows who he is start talking to him and saying how glad they are to meet him. On the trip, he discovers many different wonders that wow both him and the viewer. Even when he get's to Hogwarts, you feel as if there is a lot to be explored, and you definitely feel as if you discovered a lot about Hogwarts by the end of the film. It really is a film that shows you all that you want to see, it's not on rails, it doesn't feel like it shows you only what it wants YOU to see, everything you learn about this universe of Harry Potter interests you, which is very rare to find in today's films. Even though I really respect and love this film, it has plenty of flaws. The family in the beginning is cliched and just an obvious plot point to get the story moving, Draco Malfoy and Snape aren't very interesting characters, the special effects are aged, and the fact that Harry is only 11, and yet he's built up so much, one mistake could probably call for the hanging of him. Now, it's time for a tradition here on my profile that I hope I never forget, the Best and Worst of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The best... well, I love a lot of the film, but one thing that I felt was the most well done of all of the things in this movie was Quidditch. Oh my gosh, I love Quidditch. The build up was outstanding, as I never knew about this game before I watched this movie, so I was trying to imagine the sport in my mind, and when they actually started playing the sport, it didn't disappoint. It serves to the story, but is extremely entertaining and the best game of Quidditch of all of the Harry Potter movies I've seen so far (The last one I saw was Goblet of Fire). The worst, like I said, is the special effects. I know, back in 2001, this was amazing special effects, like some of the best of that year, but they haven't aged well, especially when being shoved in your face. It looks like the first Spider-Man movie, sometimes the effects are decent, but other times, they're horrible and really haven't fared well over the years. Timeless effects are either non-computerized effects, like the Original Star Wars trilogy, or subtle and realistic effects, like Titanic and Lord of the Rings. These effects are the only thing keeping this movie from becoming entirely timeless. Oh well, they can't all be perfect, but this is still a great film, worthy of it's popularity and praise. Overall, it's flawed, but fun. Also, it has one of my favorite type of film and television scenes ever: The Train Scene. You can watch the interaction of the awesome characters, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who have great chemistry together, and/or you can look at the passing scenery, which was one of the few special effects done well in the film. So, it has a lot of memorable moments, and is overall a great adventure. Recommended for anybody who doesn't mind a children's film once in a while.
4/5
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