Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - 5

This is the first of the J.K. Rowling books to be made into film, and the introduction of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) -the three main characters of all 7 books. This film has a large task. It must introduce the story of Harry Potter and then have a sub-plot that makes this story unique from the following books. In this case we move from his birth to growing up with his relatives- because his parents are dead, to starting and finishing his first year of Hogwarts. It does a decent job and tries to pack in as much information from the book as possible (I haven't read but I hear more background from friends). It is an imaginative story about magic and growing up. This first film doesn't develop as many of the deeper themes that will appear later in the series.