HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE

Film review by Malcolm E. Wright

The other major fantasy film currently doing the rounds is of course the Harry Potter movie. It’s probably unfair to make comparisons with the Lord of the Rings film as it is aimed at a younger, pre-teen audience. After being left as a baby with his horrible aunt and uncle, on reaching his eleventh birthday HP is admitted into the school of wizardry, Hogwarts. Thus the story is perfect for 11-year-olds about to embark on secondary education, such as my daughter Rebecca, who reads the books voraciously and has gone completely Harry Potty on us.

I haven’t read the books; perhaps I will do so, as they seem set to become classics. The story is lighter than Lord of the Rings. It has more humour and there’s a stronger element of fun. All the trappings of magic are there, probably in too much profusion. One expects that everything remotely connected to magic will make an appearance sooner or later. When this goes beyond the boundary and into mythology, then I quibble with its validity, but who cares? With the magic of special effects anything can happen and inevitably does. There are owls, trolls, spells, three-headed monsters, magic mirrors, cloaks of invisibility and even a steam train for those who like steam trains.

The core of the story is the joining up of three pals in the same ‘house’ and their uncovery of an evil plot by one of the schoolmasters to steal the philosopher’s stone. Though there are scary scenes, they fail to scare anyone over the age of eight and the surprise ending does not surprise anyone who’s seen many of this type of film. Not to be taken too seriously, but if you can suspend your disbelief you’ll be able to enjoy a roller coaster of fantastic frivolity.

Rating: Good