Harry Potter et la chambre des secrets

Having three daughters I have a choice when a great book comes out: buy three of them (EXPENSIVE!!), force someone to wait until the other is done before they can read the book (sure, I enjoy breaking up fights!), or read it to them. I chose to read it to them so we could ALL enjoy it...and we did! Naturally, the kids were excited when the movie came out. However, when I saw the first Harry Potter, I was terrified it was going to be "butchered" like most "books to movies" are; but was pleasantly surprised by the relatively "stick to the book" script it displayed. Sure, some things were left out undoubtedly due to time constraints, but overall, it conveyed the story well.

Chamber of Secrets did this even better.

As an avid reader, I am quite hesitant to see my beloved books displayed on screen only to have the directors do them no justice. However, with both Harry Potter movies, the visuals were spectacular, the acting well done, and the characters almost perfectly matched. The set design for Diagon Alley and the Weasley house was fabulous! How wonderful to see these places come to life outside of our imaginations! This stays true for nearly every aspect of Hogwarts...from the greenhouse, to the moving staircases, the dorms and Dumbledore's office.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson do superb jobs of playing Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The movie undoubtedly draws you in and makes you forget that this isn't real...quite an acheivement!

Of course, not all moviegoers will enjoy this one. It is not for the die-hard action fan, the horror-only fans, or those that dislike a bit of magic, imagination, and fantasy. But for the rest of us, Chamber of Secrets accurately depicts what until now, only our imaginations could see. Children will love this for the wizardry and magic, the struggle between Harry and his foes, the friendships that abound, and the simple fun of it all; while adults will love it for bringing them back to a time when magic was, indeed, real.

All in all, I give this a 5 out of 5...fantastically done. Of course, I would have liked to see a bit more scenes from the book added, but I understand time restrictions. Great film and a definite must see!

If you liked the first one then you're going to love this! There's a darker atmosphere this time around and more characters are introduced including Gilderoy Lockhart (hilariously played by Kenneth Branagh), Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius (a great performance by Jason Isaacs, exactly how I imagined the character from the books!), Ron's father, Arthur, and the mysterious Dobby the house elf (fortunately he isn't anywhere near as annoying as other CG characters in other movies, but I won't name any names... *cough*JarJarBinks*cough*)

The movie sticks closely to the novel, but as in the last movie we miss some of those scenes where we start to learn a little more about the characters, especially the hate-hate relationship between Harry and Professor Snape (who was seriously underused in this movie!)

All in all it's definitely worth checking out, the running time of 160 minutes may seem a little long but it doesn't seem that long when you're watching it. By the way, whatever you do DO NOT leave until the credits have ended, otherwise you'll miss a little extra treat...

Prepare yourself for a darker fantasy this time with some harrowing and scary special effects. Apparently J.K. Rowling has hit upon the fact that kids love to be scared stiff along with being entertained by touches of humor and excitement--although I think her imagination works overtime on scenes like the vomiting fit for Ron, one of the more tasteless sequences.

And apparently the makers of this Potter film have met the challenge of providing spiders and snakes that are hideous enough to have Ron and the audience in a fit of hysterics. It's all here--the main events anyway of the Rowling book--and for extra measure they've given a much needed humorous role to Kenneth Branagh who has great fun with his role as the self-loving Gilderoy Lockhart. The only real drawback is that Maggie Smith has very little to do--but the main chores belong to Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint who continue to charm as the three leads. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy has a commanding presence and an amusingly wicked final scene involving the computer created Dobby who steals every scene he's in.

Should keep Potter fans happy--and for a movie two-and-a-half hours long it moves along at a brisk pace from one adventure to another with what by now appears to be mechanical skill, thanks to artful direction by Chris Columbus who knows how to keep this sort of thing moving. John Williams' perky score is a distinct help.

Having done a good job with the first Harry Potter flick, one shouldn't be surprised Chris Columbus was asked to direct the sequel as well. And the second film actually improves on its predecessor, getting a little edgier and less children-friendly (two factors that raise exponentially with each new installment), even though it does repeat an old mistake in certain places.

So, what about the plot? Well, it's Harry's (Daniel Radcliffe) second year at Hogwarts, and everything should be fine, given he defeated Voldemort in the previous film and there are no other threats lurking in the magical world. Or are there? A mysterious house elf named Dobby seems to think so, as he repeatedly tries to prevent Harry from returning to school and keeps asking him to leave when students start being attacked by a supernatural, unknown foe. All this seems to be connected to the Chamber of Secrets, but that isn't of much help, especially considering the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, famous writer Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh), is a complete idiot.

Darker and faster, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets repeats the Philosopher's Stone's mistake of being slightly too faithful to the literary source, but Columbus manages to compensate this flaw with better visuals, some really creepy set-ups and improved acting from the younger cast members (Emma Watson in particular). He has also made interesting choices when it comes to the new faces in the adult group: Branagh is very, very funny as the ego-fueled Lockhart (a role originally intended for Hugh Grant), but the most interesting addition is Jason Isaacs (whom I can't wait to see again in the fourth film) as Lucius Malfoy, an intriguingly sinister wizard who is as racist and arrogant as his son, Harry's arch-nemesis Draco. As for Dobby, a CG creature voiced by Toby Jones, he is interesting at first but rapidly becomes annoying, his masochistic antics being repetitive and a little dull.

Finally, a special mention for Chamber's best element: Richard Harris, who sadly passed away a few weeks before the movie's premiere. He was, and is, incredibly good as headmaster Dumbledore and despite a worthy replacement (Michael Gambon), in the purists' hearts he will always be the one and only greatest wizard of all time.

Verdict: good, but they could have done better. Thankfully, they did with number three...

The second installment seems to carry on where the first left off. All previous characters return and then some!! The grandiose majesty of Harry Potter continues with new tricks, new delights and little treats that can be taken for granted. At times I find the Harry Potter world has so many wonderful things happening at the same time that you tend to overlook the smaller things (ergos the Weasley's residence and the great Hall) The Chamber of Secrets is a darker tail but is well within the tolerances of most children's ability to handle. The creatures are excellent, the overall story is easy enough to follow, though some aspects have to be explained to younger children.

What does get annoying is that constant overused Daniel Radcliffe cheesy smile. It wears on the sensibilities after a while like sharp finger nails scraping down a blackboard. Overall though, Chamber of Secrets is a solid good natured magical movie only slighter less pleasing than the first.