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Avg. Critic Score: 64 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
7 OK for kids 7+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger 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

  • 90
    Variety | Todd 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

  • 80
    Washington Post | Desson 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 Times | Kenneth 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
    San Francisco Chronicle | Bob 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 Today | Claudia 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
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa 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

  • 70
    Rolling Stone | Peter 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

  • 50
    Washington Post | Rita Kempley

    Potter-philes are sure to get what they want -- if what they want is, in fact, an exacting version of J.K. Rowling's charming children's fantasy. If it's enchantment they are after, that's quite another matter. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    Given that movies can now show us everything, the manifestations that Ms. Rowling described could be less magical only if they were delivered at a news conference. Read full review

View more reviews for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 7+ First Potter movie is a magical ride but also intense.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this first movie in the Harry Potter series has some intense and scary moments. Harry Potter and friends -- who are only 11 years old here -- are in peril and get hurt, but not seriously, and most of the scares come from fantasy creatures. There's a flashback to the (bloodless) death of Harry's parents and discussion about how they died and the one who killed them.
  • Families can talk about the Harry Potter series. Do you like the books or movies better?
  • What themes from the first in the series pop up again in later installments?
  • What do you think about Harry and his friends going away to school? Would you ever want to do something like that?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: Positive message about the power of love and friendship.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are great examples of bravery and friendship. Hermione is very studious as well.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence and scariness: Kids are in peril often, but at the hand of fantasy creatures most of the time. A three-headed dog chases Harry and friends. Harry and Draco see a dead and bloody unicorn and are chased by a hooded figure in the Forbidden Forest. Harry and friends fight a troll and knock it unconscious, are nearly crushed by a constricting plant, are chased by flying keys, and pummeled by a life-sized chess board. One character dies by turning to dust. Mostly friendly ghosts roam the halls; the ghost Nearly Headless Nick shows how he got the name. Flashback to the (bloodless) death of Harry's parents and much discussion about how they died and the one who killed them.
  • sex false0 Sexy stuff: Not an issue
  • language false0 Language: Not an issue
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: While the candy mentioned wasn't originally real, it is now: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Slugs, and more. And then there are the action figures, Lego playsets, wands, Band Aids... you name it.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Movie Ratings + Reviews

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