Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Retrospective (4/5)

A lot can change in ten years, and that's none so more apparent than with the Harry Potter franchise. In the original film, The Philosopher's Stone, the tone and pacing of the story is far more true to that of the novel, probably as a result of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers wanting to experiment with the book-to-film format, and hence we reach a meaty running time of 152 minutes. Much as this allows for major character development and a neat sense of charm and magic throughout, a decade on the feature does seem to be much longer than it ever needed to be. Onto the positives, of which there are many: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are immediatedly compelling as the leads, even if they also seem to be working out the kinks of their character portrayals during production, and there isn't a single cast member who can be faulted for their spot-on take on Rowling's wide array of characters. Although it makes for a slow run, the plot really is true to the novel, something which I'm sure really pleased fans and which no doubt remains the cause of many fans being opposed to the later adaptations taking liberties with the content that was included. The only other shortcomings are that some of the special effects are a bit naff, for example Voldemort appearing on the back of Professor Quirrell's head, and speaking of Quirrell it's a lot harder to work out that he is the evil mastermind here, even upon knowing the truth in second viewings. However, none of this stops Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone being a thoroughly enjoyable watch, a solid start to a franchise soon to become a worldwide phenomenon!