Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Two Disc Widescreen Edition) [DVD] [2002]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets struck me as a significantly better movie than the first Harry Potter film. The first movie was thrilling, giving us the first look with the naked eye of the setting already firmly lodged in the imaginative minds of Rowling's readers, but the fact that audiences are now quite familiar with both Hogwarts and the colorful characters who reside there allows for the plot to exert greater control over everything that happens. Surely, there are little sidetracks along the way, but the tension builds continually toward the almost inevitable conclusion of the film. I will admit that one can find a few weak spots if not holes in the plot, but this fact does little to diminish the overall effectiveness of the film. Just as Rowling's writing draws you in to Harry Potter's world, so does this movie. It's rather amazing to see just how much the heroic triumvirate of Harry, Ron, and Hermione have matured, but they are still the same friends we left behind at the end of Year One. The late Richard Harris is once again the perfect Dumbledore, Professor Snape is even more Snape-ish that before, and Draco Malfoy is somehow even more unbearable. Along with all of the beloved characters we already know and love (or hate), a new set of important personages now enters Harry's world. The conceited egomaniac Professor Lockhart is a fascinating, albeit increasingly annoying, wizard, while Dobby the house elf is a well-animated, exceedingly sympathetic little guy who never fails to liven up the action around him. No one looms larger, however, than Lucius Malfoy, whose dark and looming presence comes through immediately on first sight and lingers until the very end. Important storylines for both now and the future begin to emerge, helping to pave the way for successive films. The special effects are really well done indeed, the music works perfectly, and the movie succeeds admirably in following the storyline of the book on which it is based. I would imagine that young readers are particularly fond of this film, as its variety of special effects, from the flying car to the increasingly exciting action above the Quidditch field to the amazing effects of drinking Polyjuice Potion, offers a lot of delightfully memorable moments.

The DVD features are excellent, much better than those found on the DVD of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. You don't have to jump through hoops to see all of the deleted scenes, there is a fun and informative look at the making of the movie; the tour of Dumbledore's office comes off nicely, and a number of interviews with Rowling, Chris Columbus, the actors and actresses, as well as some of the individuals in charge of creating the incredible look and feel of the movie are quite interesting to watch. A number of other activities, particularly among the DVD-ROM features, offer both adults and children a fun and easy way to linger in Harry's world for some time rather than leave immediately upon viewing the movie.

I haven't gone into detail here about the film because there's really no need to. Quite simply, this is just a great film. No longer are we and Harry oohing and aahing around every corner of the school corridors; the days of innocence and play are over as Hogwarts faces the prospect of closing. The darkness that will continually work its way into the Harry Potter storyline, greatly increasing the depth of even the most familiar of characters, begins in the Chamber of Secrets.

After accompanying my children to the cinema to see the first Harry Potter adaptation, I must admit that I was quite looking forward to spending 2.5 hours in the company of the Hogwarts hosts, and my enthusiasm wasn't un-rewarded. Once again the time flew by far too quickly and my kids were again awestruck by the sheer scale of the deception.

There were shocks and surprises along the way. The first shock was how much Daniel and Rupert have grown since the last film, in looks, height, and confidence. Daniel's lower voice took a few scenes to get used to as well. The biggest surprise was the brilliant portrayal of Gilderoy Lockheart by Kenneth Branagh, who stole every scene he appeared in and brought much of the humor of the books into the script.

Obviously keen to overcome some criticisms of the first film, director Chris Columbus tried to include as many parts of the storyline from the book as he reasonably could in the time and as a consequence the pace never lets up. Fortunately the plot isn't too complicated (unlike the next book) so kids won't have too much trouble keeping up.

Once again excellent performances from the adults and the 3 lead children, Emma Watson settling into the role of Hermione as if she was born to play her. Ruperts facial expressions of fear, whilst funny at first, did start to wear thin towards the end, and Tom Feltons portrayal of Draco was, to be honest, embarrassing, but cut thankfully short.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable film, better than the first, a little scarier (especially if you are afraid of spiders !) and a must have DVD for your collection when released.

As a huge fan of the Harry Potter series of novels, I really wanted to see just how well Chris Coloumbus made the transition from book to film. The first outing for Harry was excellent, and introduced old readers and new viewers alike to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of Hogwarts' staff.
In 'The Chamber Of Secrets', Harry is developed as a character, as are his friends, although in reality a little more of the book has been edited out than I really would have liked. But that is my only real criticism of this film.
Daniel Radcliffe proves that he has developed as an actor since 'The Philosopher's Stone', and he is well backed up by his co-stars, both in Ron and Hermione, but also in Malfoy and his cronies.
I am a big fan of both Alan Rickman and Keneth Branagh, and their performances are just briliant, tongue in cheek enough for the older viewers, but Alan Rickman's bad guy Snape and Branagh's comic Lockhart will also appeal to younger watchers.
I love the Harry Potter movies, and I think that they will, perhaps not be as classic as the books, but still will remembered as some of the best children's films in recent years. I personally think that they are great,and I will enjoy them for many years to come. I hope you do too.