Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: November 16, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
It’s still a very entertaining and spectacular movie, with a rush of nostalgia to go alongside the exhilaration of fun. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A red-blooded adventure movie, dripping with atmosphere, filled with the gruesome and the sublime, and surprisingly faithful to the novel. Read full review
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's eye-filling, well-cast, often very funny and executed with great imagination and flair. Read full review
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The script is faithful, the actors are just right, the sets, costumes, makeup and effects match and sometimes exceed anything one could imagine. Read full review
90
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Happily, then, the first movie of the Harry Potter series casts a splendid spell, as screenwriter Steve Kloves has transcribed J.K. Rowling's novel nearly to a T, with precious little tweaked or trimmed. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
If the movie doesn't ultimately transport us to places The Wizard of Oz once took us, that may be partly because "The Sorcerer's Stone" is just the first chapter, with more magic waiting to be parceled out in the coming years. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Can there be higher praise for a motion picture designed to capture a beloved book with fidelity, thoroughness and affection? Only this: They made it better. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Retains (and in many cases, boosts) as much of the spirit [of the book] as you could reasonably expect. And it makes a worthy attempt to duplicate Rowling's engaging sense of humor. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
What saves Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is what created it in the first place: J.K. Rowling's enrapturing imagination. At those sporadic moments when the film allows us to share in Harry's wonder, it lets us recapture our own as well. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
That sense of déjà vu is at once this Harry Potter's balm and its limitation: many charms, but few surprises. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Does it immerse the uninitiated into a new, fabulous world? Yes. To the book's many readers, does this feel like the real "Harry Potter"? For the most part, yes. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Absolutely the best single moment, beautifully presented, comes when the orphaned Harry looks in a mirror and sees his parents there. It is brilliant in its simplicity and very moving. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Though the film will undoubtedly please the young viewers who flock to it, ultimately many of the book's readers may wish for a more magical incarnation. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
At its best, the film's visual dazzle equals the tasty wordplay of the novel. But it is overlong, overscored, and curiously misshapen. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Columbus has done a rousing job of bringing Rowling's rambunctious story to the screen. The eerie corridors and ever-shifting stairways of Hogwarts are as daunting, haunting, initially bewildering, and ultimately comforting as when Rowling painted them in prose. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
As entertaining as it is amazingly faithful. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The film, while slavishly faithful, contains little innovative juice outside of its visual richness. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Columbus's Harry Potter has many delights, but the magical alchemy that the book seemed to achieve so effortlessly eludes it.
70
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Is the movie any good? At the dawn of the twenty-first century, when art is defined by commerce, this question is beside the point. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Yes, this "Harry" does indeed fly -- just don't expect the movie to soar into the higher altitudes of imagination. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It may be long, but it's not boring -- how could it be when jack o' lanterns float lazily overhead in the dining hall, and the venerable Maggie Smith turns into a cat? Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Columbus' film version is fine, and it's bound to make kids happy while simultaneously generating untold box office, but if you haven't yet picked up a copy, don't let the film override the novel; set aside a weekend, dive in, and then head off to the cineplex to take in this well-done companion piece. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
It's a very busy movie, designed to appeal to short attention spans, and it leaves you feeling full, but not satisfied, because it's missing the most important ingredient of all: genuine magic. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A firm, ringing yes and no on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The best thing about it may be that it will lead many back to read -- or re-read -- the book.
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
All it lacks are the crucial things an inspired director could have provided: spark, soul and magic.
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