HARRY POTTER &

THE SORCERER'S STONE

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: mild language, violence, thematic elements, magic

Rated:

After years of pre-production and settlement, the first highly anticipated and perhaps most controversial children's book of our time comes to the silver screen. Harry Potter has become a household name. To many Christians it produces a curl of the lip or a raised brow. An equal number have found a lot to celebrate about this little wizard, despite his magic dealings. Who's right? Who knows. But I do know one thing... the film captures the very essence of the book beautifully. If you love the books, you will love the film.

On a dark night on Privet Drive a grizzled old man approaches and proceeds to empty the streetlamps of their light, casting all into shadows. Met by a gray tabby cat, who transforms into the stern figure of Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith), Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris) proceeds to deliver a little bundle of joy to the doorstep of the Dursley family. Harry Potter is the only living survivor of a terrible night in which Lord Voldemort (the wizarding world's equivalent of Satan) has been destroyed. The child is destined for great things, left be raised by his aunt and uncle. Eleven years later, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is an abused preteen forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs while his cousin Dudley is grossly spoiled. When Harry somehow manages to make the glass over a snake cage in the zoo vanish, he is punished by his uncle for shenanigans, although he cannot explain how it happened. Then comes the letter, from a school named Hogwarts. 

Horrified, his aunt and uncle tear it up. But more letters come. Through the post-box, the windows, even the chimney. Harry is allowed to read none of them. The neighborhood is being invaded with owls. In an attempt to escape this strange behavior, Mr. Dursley takes his family to an island in the middle of nowhere to escape the letters. On Harry's eleventh birthday, shortly after midnight a giant named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) literally breaks down the door and informs Harry he's been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry's parents were wizards... and Harry is the most famous wizard of all. 

From there Harry is swept into the mysterious world of Hogwarts with its moving staircases, talking paintings, three-headed dogs, and booby trapped corridors. Every man, woman, and child in the wizarding world knows his name. Somehow Harry was able to block the horrible curse that took his parents' life, and destroy Voldemort's physical form. But all is not well at Hogwarts. Even with his friends Hermione (Emma Watson), a Muggle-born witch with extraordinary talents toward spell work, and Ron (Rupert Grint), a redheaded, fun-loving eccentric, Harry has learned he world of magic can be dark indeed... and something threatens their very lives...

Rowling has created a world you will never forget. From the sinister Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) to the giant boarhound in Hagrid's Hut, wrongly named "Fang," and even the antics of Harry's arch-enemy Malfoy (Tom Felton), Hogwarts and its students create a fantastic tale of bravery, courage, and the battle of good against evil. Many Christians have a problem with the stories because they revolve around the subject of witchcraft. I understand fully this concern and have my own reservations about certain aspects of the plot. But if you look on the story on the whole, you will see it's a fairy tale not meant to be taken literally. If we accept Merlin in King Arthur's Court we should also accept Harry; for the two are synonymous. Visually the film is delightful, well cast, and has excellent special effects. Best of all the story is reasonably true to the book.

Seeing as the books were written for younger readers there is little in the way of offensive content. Some mild profanity makes up part of the script, but is usually played for humor. I feel for its overall dark tones the film would have been more appropriate with a PG13 rating. The thematic elements alone make it unsuitable for very young children. At one point characters are wandering the wood at night only to come across a darkly cloaked figure drinking the blood of a slain unicorn. At the climax, the villain reveals he has two faces; one on either side of his head. Harry manages to defeat him but the ghostly vapor of Voldemort passes through our young hero, making him fall unconscious to the floor. There is also a three-headed dog to contend with and the ghosts that haunt Hogwarts: all are friendly and play minor roles, but one is capable of pulling his head almost completely off of his body. 

There are also numerous spoken spells throughout the film (most are clever Latin word plays).  Rowling's wit and humor bleeds through in the excellent portrayals of the cast, and there are several thought-provoking twists to the plot. One could almost argue there is some good in Harry's world. The lies spun by Voldemort at the end are the lies Satan often throws at us: there is no good or evil; I can give you everything you want if you come to my side; together, we can be great... but in the process, lose our soul. Harry learns he is protected from evil by the sacrifice of his mother, whose death left him with the mark of everlasting love. The unicorn scene, while disturbing, reminded me strongly of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. In slaying a unicorn, the purest creature on earth, Voldemort has eternally cursed himself to a half life. Satan did the day he raised a crowd to crucify the savior.

if you are not a Potter fan and have doubts about the books in general, I would encourage you not to rent this film. Whatever you go in looking for, you will find. If you ARE a fan of Rowling I would encourage you to go in with an open mind and ask God to point you to the subliminal truths in the story For older viewers this can be a wonderful, thought-provoking and entertaining journey through the magic world of Harry Potter.

Other Viewer Comments:

by Melinda Lav

The charm in this movie is that when Harry gets to Hogwart's and the life of witches and wizards it is all new to him, as it is to the viewer. As Harry learns and discovers, we do too. Even though setting is so distant from our own lives, we feel that we can relate because we find out that the situations Harry finds himself in, the struggles he faces, and the joys and sadnesses that he experiences are very close to our own. Extremely faithful to the book by the same title (by J.K. Rowling), this movie fulfills the dreams of Potter fans everywhere. The moving staircases, the Quidditch match (similar to soccer but played with four balls and while suspended in the air on broomsticks), and the endearing characters of Harry, Hermione, and Ron all come to life on the screen in magical ways. The special effects are breathtaking and the musical score by John Williams is one of the best I've heard in a long time. Overall, the movie is a masterpiece from start to finish and a delight to the eyes and ears of its Muggle (non-magical people) viewers. However, Harry Potter is not without its flaws or warnings.

Many Christians are against Harry Potter and this should cause viewers to take a close look at why. They feel that the magic in the movie is only promoting real witchcraft because witches and wizards are portrayed as good. They also argue that buying the Harry Potter merchandise, movie tickets, books, etc. is only supporting an evil cause; Christians instead should be boycotting. Not all Christians feel this way, however, and I am one of those who do not. I'm of the conviction that magic can be presented in books or in films in an acceptable way, such as in the fantasies of the Wizard of Oz, the Chronicles of Narnia, or Tolkien's books. 

In the Harry Potter movie nearly all the magic is the abacadabra, fly-the-book-around-the-room- while-you-wave-your-little-wand kind of magic, which is not at all near to what real witchcraft is like. There are no prayers to Satan, séances, or anything else that real witches and wizards do. Basically, the magic in Harry Potter is shown as something that can be used for good and for evil (and using it for evil is always very frowned upon). Good always wins out over evil, and evil is continually shown as undesirable and something to fight against. It is a fact that interest in the occult and the like has jumped since the Potter books and movie came out. To that I just have to say that people will always take advantage of anything as an excuse for their own evil devices. Of concern to me before watching the film, was that it might have an overall evil tone. But, gladly, the opposite was apparent. I never felt uncomfortable with any of the movie scenes, and felt upbeat as the movie went along. Cheers for Hollywood for not making it oppressive or with a dark mood.

The biggest harm I found in the books is that sometimes Harry and his friends lie, break rules, etc. and get away with it. Occasionally their disobedient actions turned out to be a good thing, that is, in doing their bad things they end up in just the right place at the right time and something good became of it. This, of course, is not a good tool for teaching children that bad actions have bad consequences. But more often than not Harry and his friends receive just punishment for their incorrect actions.

There are several positive figures in the book that can also be praised. The professors in Harry's school are very strict about rules. Instead of the children mocking the adults (as is the case too often in children's books and movies), the kids have great respect for their elders and look up to them. The movie does not show the children as know-it-alls and kids who save the day while the adults are stupid, bumbling, and ignorant. In the movie the kids think they know more than the adults do in one incident, and act upon their notion, only to get into deep trouble later on. And -- surprise! -- the kids were ultimately wrong in their assumptions and the adults were right all along. This, to me, is very refreshing to see.

In reviewing this movie, I would go as far as to say that Harry Potter is a lot better than most of the rest of the adult-mocking, back-talking, slapstick-violent movies that are out there for kids. It was refreshingly superior to any recent kid's movie that I've seen lately. However, I would emphasize that it is not for young children, for those easily frightened or those who are undiscerning (they make think such things can happen to them and not understand it's only fantasy). It may depend on the child, but I personally wouldn't recommend it for those under 10. But for an older crowd, it's certainly a treat.