Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The second installment is, in my opinion better than the first for a number of reasons. First, the story got a little darker than the first film. It got a little more mature. It retained its whimsical nature, but added a touch of weight and a noticeable amount of emotional heaviness. Second, there was more actual magic, which, after all, is why we’ve all come to see the show. There were more spells and more fantastic visual effects. Third, the acting skills of the three main child actors, Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, were markedly improved.
The tone and the visuals were decidedly darker than the first film, which was all for the better, especially for the adults in the audience. The magic was more creepy and even the visuals were darker. But here, we have Ginny Weasley being possessed by an evil memory recorded in a magical diary, writing on the walls with blood. And then there was the Basilisk, a giant evil snake trying to murder children
Now, I have to applaud the three main actors. They were great. I think Radcliff showed the most improvement. He seemed much more comfortable in the role, and was a lot less… nervous when delivering his lines. He was a lot more confident, and there was a sense of graveness and weight to his performance. Again, Grint did a great job, even though a lot of his performance in this film was just him being scared of one thing or another. But his frightened, squeaky, high-pitched voice was actually funny and made me chuckle to myself. But while Emma Watson was better here than in the first film, she still had a moment or two where her lines had an awkwardness in them that catch my attention every time.
The first movie was all about introducing and establishing the characters. Here were get to develop them and see them grow into fully fledged characters. The three leads, not to mention the entire cast, both child-actors and adults alike, did great. My favorites, aside from the three, were Alan Rickman playing Snape, Maggie Smith as McGonagall, Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, and Gemma Jones as Madam Pomfrey. Jones had a small role, but I loved her delivery. Who am I kidding? The whole cast was great. But there were also a few new characters that were important to the plot, like Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart, and Toby Jones, who voiced the entirely CGI character of Dobby the House Elf. And yes, the CGI on Dobby was an improvement on the CGI in the first film.
But that’s not to say the film was perfection. Really quickly. The pipes the basilisk was moving through must have been gigantic! And he would have to have been moving around as silently as a ghost. The Phoenix was a huge deus ex machina, having the exact powers Harry needed after his fight with the basilisk and the memory of Tom Riddle, like healing tears, and being able to carry heavy loads. Why did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley send all their children onto platform 9 ¾, except for Ron and Harry, then fail to notice that they had been left behind? None of the teachers ever noticed the crumpled piece of paper in petrified Hermione’s hand? The level of coincidence that saved every basilisk victim from death was staggering. And it was also very convenient that Professor Sprout was growing Mandrakes, the very thing that could cure petrification. And Lucius did not present Dobby with clothes. He gave his servant something to hold for him. He was not giving him clothes as a gift to keep.
But despite all that, I really liked the movie. The visuals were awesome, the plot, while incredibly contrived at times, was fun and often clever. The score was exciting, and the sets and costumes were spot-on. It was darker than the first film, but still not too dark for a younger audience. It was a worthy follow up to The Sorcerer’s Stone.
TOP 10 FAVORITE PARTS
- Our introduction to Arthur Weasley
- Ron’s EAT SLUGS spell backfires.
- McGonagall explains the history of the Chamber of Secrets
- Lockhart removes the bones from Harry’s arm.
- The Dueling Club
- Harry and Ron infiltrate the Slytherin common room.
- The Swarm of Spiders attack Harry and Ron
- Lockhart tries to escape Hogwarts and is exposed as a fraud
- Moaning Myrtle talks about her death.
- Harry stabs the diary and it bleeds ink, destroying Tom Riddle.