Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

An exceptional big-screen half-term treat.

Harry Potter's first venture onto the screen is a solid blockbuster.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is, despite its trickery, that plainest and least surprising of artifacts: the work of art that is exactly the sum of its parts, neither more nor less.

First Potter movie is a magical ride but also intense.

A near-perfect commercial and cultural commodity.

I hear the J.K. Rowling books are great, and on the basis of this 2001 movie I'm ready to believe it.

The acting is not great, the story's cookie-cutter, but some of the graphics still held up and there are interesting aspects of the wizard world. I think I may have missed the boat on this by watching this as a grown man, but I get why people like this.

This is a solid foundation for the film series but the pacing and acting make this a slog to get through.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone remains a memorable debut for one of the biggest fantasy franchises of all time. Not only does it hold after over 20 years, but this movie is still a benchmark for world building by any standard.

... a painstakingly literal translations of J.K Rowling’s first novel, a near-perfect replica created with a kind of funhouse spectacle of the wonders of the magical world come to life.