Anyone who read yesterday's review for Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone will know that I intend to watch all of the Harry Potter movies on the big screen in the run up to the release of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, and that means you lucky people will be treated to a review of every film too.
Today's installment is the second film in the franchise, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. When this was released, way back in 2002, I was still working for UCI Cinemas in Preston. Having watched the first film I was no longer curious about Mr Potter, I simply wanted to know, like everyone else did, what happened next.
In this film, young Harry is about to go back to school after spending the summer with his adoptive family, the horrid Dursley's. During an important dinner hosted by Harry's uncle, a house elf named Dobby appears in Harry's room and tells Harry he must not go back to Hogwarts as it is not safe for him. Ignoring Dobby's warnings, Harry heads back to school, despite many signs that he should stay away. Once back at Hogwarts there is a mystery afoot involving the Chamber Of Secrets of the films title. Harry must discover who is behind the re-opening of the chamber in order to stop his classmates from losing their lives to the monster within it's walls.
For whatever reason I don't think Chamber Of Secrets works as well as Philosopher's Stone. I know that the first two movies are considered the least favourite among Potter fans as they were aimed at a younger audience than the later films. But in some respects I disagree with this as I love Philosopher's Stone. I just feel that Chamber Of Secrets, ironic as this may be, lacks some of the magic that makes Philosopher's Stone so charming.
I'm not saying I dislike Chamber Of Secrets or that it's a bad film, it's just not as good as Philosopher's Stone. Having said that, for someone like me, it is a damn sight scarier! I am of course talking about the scene with Aragog and his family of giant spiders. Anyone who knows me will know that I struggle with regular sized spiders at the best of times, but hundreds of giant ones is really not a fun time for me. Watching this scene on a big screen again was not something I looked forward to or enjoyed. So I'm afraid Chamber Of Secrets loses points for inflicting that on me. I'm with Ron all the way when he says "why must it always be spiders, why can't it be follow the butterflies?"
Another thing that didn't really work for me first time around was Dobby. I know I'm going to enrage Potter fans around the globe with this one, but before you lynch me, hear me out. I said yesterday that I was in the process of reading the books and Chamber Of Secrets is one that I have already read. And I like book Dobby, but I found film Dobby too annoying. And as he's quite a big part of the film, it just lessened the enjoyment for me. Along with the giant spiders. I already mentioned that I don't like spiders, right?
I did think that Kenneth Branagh was a nice addition to the cast as the cheesy Professor Lockhart, as his character brought in some much needed light to what otherwise would have been quite a dark subject matter for a kids film. This film also sees the introduction of Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley, Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy and Shirley Henderson as Moaning Myrtle. All perfectly cast in their respective roles. And I must add that one of my favourite lines in the film comes from Myrtle "I was just sitting in the U bend thinking about death when suddenly a book fell through my HEAD!" Never fails to make me smile.
So taking all that into account I must conclude that while Chamber Of Secrets moves the story arc forward at a steady pace, it's a small step backward in terms of magic and charm. 7 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 9th July 2011
UK Release Date - 15th November 2002
Cast Overview:
Daniel Radcliffe ~ Harry Potter
Rupert Grint ~ Ron Weasley
Emma Watson ~ Hermione Granger
Matthew Lewis ~ Neville Longbottom
Tom Felton ~ Draco Malfoy
Devon Murray ~ Seamus Finnigan
Sean Biggerstaff ~ Oliver Wood
James Phelps ~ Fred Weasley
Oliver Phelps ~ George Weasley
Chris Rankin ~ Percy Weasley
Bonnie Wright ~ Ginny Weasley
Julie Walters ~ Molly Weasley
Mark Williams ~ Arthur Weasley
Jason Isaacs ~ Lucius Malfoy
Fiona Shaw ~ Aunt Petunia Dursley
Richard Griffiths ~ Uncle Vernon Dursley
Harry Melling ~ Dudley Dursley
Robbie Coltrane ~ Rubeus Hagrid
Richard Harris ~ Professor Albus Dumbledore
Maggie Smith ~ Professor Minerva McGonagall
Alan Rickman ~ Professor Severus Snape
Kenneth Branagh ~ Professor Gilderoy Lockhart
Miriam Margolyes ~ Professor Pomona Sprout
Shirley Henderson ~ Moaning Myrtl
Christian Coulson ~ Tom Marvolo Riddle
David Bradley ~ Argus Filch
John Cleese ~ Nearly Headless Nick
Director ~ Chris Columbus
Writer(s) ~ J.K. Rowling (Novel) and Steve Kloves (Screenplay)
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