Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This movie is way better than the first one, which everyone is saying because--let's face it--it's true. The three leads have grown into their characters, and their acting is loads better. I kept thinking during the first one, "Aw, look at these cute little kids playing Harry, Ron and Hermione." Now they ARE Harry, Ron and Hermione, though they still won't get any Oscar nods. All the new characters were absolutely wonderful. I was not disappointed at all with a single one, even Dobby. Now, I know a lot of people compare him to another CGI character, but he's not like that at all. I loved Dobby, even though when I saw him the trailers I thought I was going to hate him. Jason Isaacs as Malfoy was an absolute slime ball, and just so deliciously evil. Not bad looking, either, especially with his luscious long blonde hair. Bonnie Wright returned as Ginny Weasley, who had a much more important part and did an excellent job, I was very impressed. I'm tempted to go on about the lovely Christian Coulson as Tom Riddle, and Kenneth Branaugh, who embodies Gilderoy Lockhart on the screen, but this review has a word limit. Even if you are not a massive Harry Potter fan, you will find this movie very enjoyable. It's scary (spiders, snakes, and willows, oh my!) and incredibly funny, thanks to Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and of course Kenneth Branaugh, the incredibly pompous new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Back to the subject of the three leads, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron), and Emma Watson (Hermione). They have grown quite a bit since the last film, though it's not a bad thing-Harry and his friends are supposed to grow too. Girls are starting to notice how good-looking Harry has become, and Ron, who is still adorable, and Hermione is becoming very pretty. I was pleased to see that her appearance was more like it was described in the books-she even had big teeth. Ron is finally taller than the other two like he's supposed to be, but that's most likely due to Rupert being older. I only had one disappointment as a major Potter fan-Sean Biggerstaff. While I believe he is absolutely dreamy and am in love with him, he just didn't come across as the mad, maniacal Wood we've grown to love. A consolation for some of the die-hard fans who might find the movie a little fast when they first see it-see it twice. The second time is so much more enjoyable, I can't tell you why, but you'll love it. I'd recommend this movie to anyone, from the scary gothic kid who sits next to me in fourth period to my work-a-holic father, it's great. I can't wait to see it again with my mother, who was away this weekend. I've already seen it twice, and it's only been out for three days. I can guarantee that you'll enjoy it, even if you didn't like the first one-which I personally find odd, but slightly understandable. Slightly. Go see Chamber of Secrets!

Lessons learned since the 1st film! Clearly this film was edited at script stage rather than the cutting room floor stage!! This story reads as film narrative, rather than a book illustration, which was the big mistake of the 1st film. Anyone can watch this film and follow it without knowing the book. The 1st hour is pure laugh out loud fun (the adults in my Cinema audience were shouting with laughter!). The last hour is scary, wand dropping tension.

The problem is: how do we convince muggles put-off by the 1st film to go see this one? Why should they give this one a chance? Answer: If you know someone who likes Fun, make them see this film! This film is not about 'Oscars' & Acting, despite the fabulous performances by all the adults, it is about enjoying the overall effect of the film, this being to give the viewer a long lasting buzz. Brilliant! The staging is very theatrical in it's minimalism, yet extravagantly arty in visual specifics. In the not to distant future I see fans going to a regular weekend slot at their local cinema for Audience Participation fun. Wands, swords, sorting hat, spiders, mandrakes & crucial ear muffs as standard props! Lots of gaps for us to shout out funny quips. A Rocky Horror Show Audience Participation Show for kids! Long overdue.

My Rating: 8/10. Not a masterpiece of cinematic potential, but such jolly good fun that no one should be denied the joy of a "Bloody Marvelous" frolic. A film for the child within us adults. Go see it with a predominantly adult audience if you want to experience the real buzz of unfettered emotion. Only three children were present at the Preview I witnessed and they were silently spellbound whereas the adults evoked emotion noisily throughout and then stood up, cheered and applauded at the end! I shall never forget this truly magical experience.

Richard Harris you can not be replaced, you will always be Dumbledore, and hence Omnipresent. Thank you for the fantastic finale to a wonderful life that you gave us. Thank you. And Thank you JK & Chris. You did it, the Chamber is well & truly open now!

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...

I really liked the first movie, and I think I like this one more. It's certainly both darker and funnier than the first. This time though, Ron gets the most laughs("OK can we panic now?"). Here we get introduced to new characters, the standout being Kenneth Branagh, a Shakespeare veteran, who stole every scene as Gildaroy Lockhart. I loved it when he said "It's filthy down here," the whole cinema were in hysterics at that. Jason Isaacs was menacing too, and Dobby was hilarious with his constant head-banging. Daniel Radcliffe is audibly older here and it does work at its advantage. I thought 23 year old Christian Coulson as Riddle was very good indeed, though Riddle was much scarier in the book. Other scenes of comic relief were provided by Ron's parents, played respectably by Julie Walters and Mark Williams. However, there were still some frightening scenes, and the plot at times seemed to be convoluted. Richard Harris was surprisingly good, considering he was ailing quite visibly, and some months later he sadly died. This movie is fairly faithful to the source material, and manages to have a bit of humour too. All in all, a dark and funny movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox