Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Once again, it is very nice to be able to go through a movie I actually enjoy after the nightmare that was Attack of the Clones. This one definitely builds upon the story of the first Harry Potter film in ways that feel interesting and the character development is on point.

The story follows Harry, Ron and Hermione, once again played by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, as they go through their second year at Hogwarts, but, as can be expected, not everything is sunshine and roses for our heroes. After Harry receives a cryptic warning from a house elf named Dobby to stay away from Hogwarts. It turns out these warnings ring true after a mysterious message appears on the walls announcing the opening of the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, followed by the systematic petrification of students by an unknown creature.

As you can see from my plot outline, this film definitely is darker and the stakes are higher than the first, with the whimsy beginning to falter just a bit as we get to see more of the dark side of the wizarding world. Arguably, the dark elements are what makes this film so compelling, which is a recurring theme in the future films in this story, as you will see when I review them.

The acting has arguably gotten better, and while the main three have definitely improved, I must also give props to Richard Harris, reprising his role as the wise headmaster Albus Dumbledore, as well as Jason Isaacs as the villainous Lucius Malfoy, father to Draco Malfoy, a recurring bully of Harry's, played by Tom Felton, and the bumbling airheaded Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, played hilariously by Kenneth Branagh. There isn't really a bad performance in this film, but those are the ones that stood out to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed getting to see this film, and I had fun throughout it. I will admit that the film 2 hour and 40 minute runtime feels a bit excessive, and they definitely could have trimmed it down a bit, but it's still a good film all the same. As with the first one, I highly suggest watching this one as well, because it does add to not only the universe of Harry Potter but also gives more details to Harry's backstory that I don't think anyone was expecting when the film first came out.

Next time, we continue the journey to destroy the One Ring after the fellowship has split up, leaving Frodo and Sam alone, when they encounter Gollum, a previous owner of the Ring, how will it affect their journey? Find out when I review The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

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