So after about 9 years I have decided to finally cave in and watch the Harry Potter series. I want to be able to watch the final two films in the theaters both this year and next. And, though I think it is a tad overrated, I am not disappointed I started to watch it. The Sorcerer's Stone, the series' first entry, starts with professors from the esteemed Hogwarts School for wizards finding a home for the orphaned yet gifted infantile Harry Potter. Until his 11th birthday, he lives with a miserable family who treat him like a 3rd rate citizen. One day he is told about his destiny and is taken to Hogwarts where he meets friends, engages in the school and in its actvities, and fights against evil forces. Daniel Radcliffe makes a more than adequate Potter and the filmmakers made a wise choice by populating the film with gifted and touted British actors. However, though the beginning is a lot of fun, the film gets bogged down by its own sense of creativity and whimsy and it suffers greatly from overlength.
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