Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Reviewed 12.2005

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets picks up where The Sorcerer's Stone ended. We find Harry (Radcliffe) stuck in the Dursley household, waiting for his friends Ron Weasley (Grint) and Hermione Granger (Watson) to contact him after a summer away from the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Trouble finds Harry in the form of a house-elf named Dobby, who warns Harry not to return to the school because evil will surely befall him if he tries. Harry ignores Dobby, returns to the school, and finds that an evil force has taken over the halls, immobilizing people in terror, and taunting Harry to find the source. It's year two for Harry and Company at Hogwarts and with it comes more adventures and many more characters to meet!

As with any sequel, there are many new things to enjoy. We spend quality time with Ron's family, take a ride in a flying car, meet Moaning Myrtle, a ghost who haunts the ladies room at Hogwarts, welcome new professors and meet Draco's deliciously sinister father, Lucius Malfoy, along with potting mandrakes, unleash pixies, discover a basilisk, Argog, and new magical delights, like Polyjuice Potion and Tom Riddle's diary.

Despite all this, the film remains focused on Harry, Ron, and Hermione and they are growing up fast. Now with mature voices and richer facial features, each actor is slowing coming into their own terms of developing the character's traits and emotional range. Radcliffe seems to have settled into Harry's skin. Grint provides more depth in Ron and perfects his comedic timing. Watson's Hermione has become much more than the whining know-it-all she is.

Kenneth Branagh as the vain Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart is spot on. He's perfect as the devilishly handsome, yet clueless professor.

Draco's father, overbearing and malevolent Lucius Malfoy makes his first appearance here and I'm hoping it's not his last. Brilliantly played by Jason Issacs, he provides another facet to Draco and you can't help but feel for him.

Meeting the Weasleys is a treat. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley compliment Ron, so well. The homey atmosphere and knick-knacks are just what you'd expect from Mrs. Weasley (delightful, Julie Waters). The flying car comes courtesy of Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams) who's fascinated by all things muggle. Ginny Weasley is pitch-perfect thanks to young unknown Bonnie Wright.

Wizard-mates Neville Long-Bottom and Seamus Finnigan are back, along with a new Gryffindor (and slightly irritating) Colin Creevy. Dobby, the house elf, succeeds in being annoyingly irritating, even more so on the big screen.

It's impossible not to be amazed at the returning cast of professors. Dumbledore comes across even more wise beyond his years. Professor McGonagill continues to delight. There is just not enough face time for Professor Snape. Unlike the book, the film does not really bring Harry and Snape's hate-hate relationship to the forefront.

The two pictures, though not interchangeable by any means, share the same production values, casts, and behind the scenes talent. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets easily matches the original film in ambiance and spirit. Directed once again by Chris Columbus, it has a more defined edge than the first, brought on by a bolder sense of film-making, the first picture's overwhelming success, and the creepy crawly story laid out by author J.K. Rowling, adapted here again by Steven Kloves. Chamber goes for scares and intrigue, where Sorcerer went for awe and fantasy. The darker tone of the movie is a welcome sight, proving that Columbus has far more trust in his family audience than anyone else would dare, always a sure sign of a good film.

All the ingredients that made The Sorcerer's Stone such a great time are here: The magic, the Hogwarts house battles, John Williams' beautiful score, the camaraderie between the three leads, and glorious set design. The dueling scenes were a delight making me wish they had been longer. Justin and Harry's run-in could have stood for more development, as well as the Parsel-tongue. Towards the end, Columbus must have discovered he was running out of film. Harry's time spent in the Chamber of Secrets felt rushed and didn't fit well with the pace of the movie. Quidditch returns, albeit briefly, with all the CGI problems that slightly marred the sequence in the first film fixed.

Sadly, missing from this film is the delight of the little details. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is interested solely in story, and remains feverishly locked in on getting the basics of the narrative out, and that's all. With a running time of 160 minutes, you'd think there would be time to search around the shadowy corners of Hogwarts some more, but Columbus doesn't set aside time for it. With Sorcerer's Stone being the origin story of Harry Potter, and most of the geographical work laid out in that film, The Chamber of Secrets doesn't have many scenes of discovery that aren't directly routed or paid off in the end.

Returning to the magical world of wizardary in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is great fun, but don't miss out on all the details. Read the book!