Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone (Ws)

Fans of J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel will find much to enjoy in the film adaptation directed by Chris Columbus -- the casting, for starters, is spot-on. Daniel Radcliffe is delightful as Harry -- downtrodden by his nasty relatives the Dursleys but convinced deep-down that he was meant for better things. A Who's Who of British stage and screen performers stood in for the staff at Hogwarts -- Dame Maggie Smith is particularly prim and perfect as Minerva McGonagall, Alan Rickman is a dead ringer for the oily Severus Snape and Robbie Coltrane was J. K. Rowling's only choice to play the gruff but gentle giant Hagrid. Young actor Rupert Grint is terrific as Harry's best friend Ron Weasley and Emma Watson makes Hermione Granger -- a character who could easily have been annoying if miscast -- smug, smart and eminently likable.

The movie sticks close enough to the events of the book to please the purists and the special effects team makes excellent use of the novel's most fantastic elements -- the Great Hall at Hogwarts is a wonder, with its floating candles and enchanted ceiling, and the Quidditch match, though a bit whiplash-inducing, is tremendously exciting. The film's younger audience will likely get more thrills than scares, though it would have been nice to see a bit more of the dark side of the story. Overall, a satisfying adaptation of the much-loved book, but one can see where future films will run into trouble ... Philosopher's Stone clocked in at 152 minutes to tell most of the details of a fairly slim novel. As Rowling's books get longer, it will be interesting to see how they translate to the screen.