In “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” the world’s favorite boy wizard is back fighting evil to the delight of moviegoers and readers everywhere.
When the film opens, it is the second year for Harry at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but a pushy house elf named Dobby attempts to bar him from going back, warning that death is certain for Harry as an ancient evil has been released at the school.
Harry dismisses the elf and arrives at the school in a flying car (the special effects of which are nostalgically reminiscent of pre-digital Industrial Light and Magic), but danger ensues as students and pets throughout the school are found paralyzed along with a warning that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Harry, along with his friends Ron and Hermione, discover that the Chamber is an evil place of horrors that had been opened once before and caused the death of a Hogwarts student. Ignoring the warnings and rules set by the school’s professors, the three intuitive students set out on their own to solve the mystery.
Last year’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was a pleasant experience for fans of J.K. Rowling’s books. It magically brought to life the characters and places of the popular series, thanks in large part to director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves. Most memorably it visualized the game of quidditch, a cross between rugby and soccer on flying brooms. But at 152 minutes, the film was long, which is understandable since the filmmakers needed the time to introduce everything and everybody.
But given that movie audiences were introduced to everything last year, it could be assumed that the “Chamber of Secrets” would have been a leaner film, which it is not. At 161 minutes, it is actually longer than the first. It’s admirable for the filmmakers to try and include everything from the book, but film adaptations seldom survive such gluttony.
A major flaw of the film is the underdevelopment of one key character whose involvement is critical to the end of the film. Revealing the character’s name would ruin the fun for viewers who haven’t seen the film. It is surprising that a movie that labors to include everything from the book would fail to emphasize this character. Her existence may be very obvious to fans of the book, but for those who only see the movie, her involvement may seem only impulsive.
Essentially, “Chamber of Secrets” is just like “Sorcerer’s Stone.” They have virtually the same plot which leads Harry to the depths of the school to fight an evil that even the greatest wizards can’t seem to touch. If you saw it last year, you’ll just see the same thing this year. Which doesn’t mean this isn’t an entertaining film, because it is.
One bright point of the film is Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley. He’s a cute sidekick that is the perfect comic relief against Daniel Radcliffe’s straight man Harry. He is a priceless member of the film’s impressive cast and more than once steals the movie.