The very popular book series becomes a motion picture. Four years ago Harry Potter took the literary world by storm and now it tries to take Hollywood by storm. The movie takes place in the world non-magic folk or muggles never see. When an evil wizard Voldermont kills Harry’s parents and then tries to kill Harry himself he is defeated for some unknown reason and disappears leaving the world free from his evil presence as people celebrate the boy who did not die. But Harry now without his parents is sent to live with his muggle Aunt and Uncle who despise the very thought of magic and treat Harry very bad for it. So after nearly 11 years of living with his aunt and uncle and their pig like son Dudley, Harry’s life is about to be turned upside down for the better. He is invited to go to Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry and he learns all about his past for the first time. He will make new friends in Ron Weasley the tag along red headed child from a large family and Hermione Granger a miss know it all in pint size form. He will face new enemies like Draco Malfoy and become a star quiidich player a game that is a mixture of soccer and basketball played on broomsticks hundreds of feet in the air.

The director Chris Columbus tried to stay very true to the book and changed very little from the literary work even to using an all-British cast as the books take place in England. The movie was a stunning display of visual effects and eye candy and the story has already taken most of the world by storm with its enthralling characters and plots. I think Columbus did a great job and am glad he decided to not cut this movie down to a more kid size length rather than the two and half hour spectacle it is, with all the sub plots and stories from the books included. But there is always one problem when bringing a good book to the screen as a movie and that is it never truly lives up to the book no matter how good it is. And Harry potter had its share of letdowns in this area. Because of its length and the fact we are missing all the literary devices that help advance the plot of the book and keep readers interested the movie tends to drag a little in the middle as we wait for the climax to happen. That’s not to say the movie wasn’t spectacular but it will always be just a companion piece to the books, read the books first then go see the movie to enjoy the stunning spectacle that it is. The movie takes you on a roller coaster of excitement an adventure and keeps you glued to your seats many times over. The best part of the movie was played by Emma Watson whose portrayal of Miss Granger was absolutely perfect and how I would have imagined her from reading the books. I would have rated it 4.5 stars but I felt it needed something in the middle of the movie to make it progress a little more rapidly instead of dragging. Still a great movie, take the kids.
4 stars out of 5