Director: Chris Columbus (Home Alone 2, Mrs. Doubtfire)Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (December Boys), Rupert Grint (Thunderpants, Driving Lessons), Emma Watson (The Tale of Despereaux), Richard Harris (Gladiator, This Sporting Life), Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Maggie Smith (California Suite, Gosford Park), Robbie Coltrane (The World Is Not Enough, Cracker), Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Henry V), Julie Walters (Driving Lessons, Billy Elliot), Warwick Davis (Star Wars, Leprechaun), Jason Isaacs (The Patriot, Brotherhood), Tom Felton
The Deal: The summer before Harry Potter's (Radcliffe) second year at Hogwarts, he is visited by a house elf named Dobby who warns him that he will be in danger if he goes to school. Ignoring Dobby's warning and avoiding Dobby's roadblocks, Harry goes to Hogwarts, but strange and terrible things are happening at the school. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, and students around the school are turning up petrified. To top it off, Harry must put up with an incredibly arrogant and egotistic new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart (Branagh). When a student is taken into the chamber, Harry sets out to find its location and stop whoever it is behind the horrible attacks.
Thoughts: The second film installment picks up where the first left off, returning the viewer to the wonderful and magical world of Hogwarts. It is a bit darker than the first, but still somewhat on the light side. Columbus definitely aimed his efforts at keeping the film kid friendly, scaling back some of the darker elements. Thankfully, this doesn't ruin the film, as times have not truly become dark in the wizarding world, and the more childish direction is still full of the magic and entertainment the first film brought.
Pretty much everyone from the first film is back, and their performances are on par with their previous efforts. The child actors are still young, so their performances haven't really grown, but then again, it's only been a year since the last film. The biggest addition this time is Branagh, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He pulls off the arrogance, ego, and most of the charm the character sported in the book, but he didn't quite fit the physical appearance. Overall he did a good job though. The other new character is Dobby. Though the CGi is fairly average, the character was handled well.
Accuracy: Like the first film, Columbus stuck quite close to the book. The changes made are mostly small and forgettable, though a few do stick in my head. Most people I talk to agree that the basilisk was nothing like they imagined or was depicted in the book, but it is not really a problem. I still am bothered how the ending was handled though. Events of the battle were out of order, and though not devastating, it wouldn't have cost anything to have done it properly. My other issue was more of a missed opportunity on the film's part. In the book, the Weasley's are all huddled in McGonagall's office crying, at which point Harry comes through the door covered in blood with a sword in one hand and Ginny in the other. This was skipped in the film, and I don't know why, as it would have been an incredibly epic and powerful scene. It bothers me every time I watch the film. ☆☆☆☆
Overall Verdict: Though not as good as the first film, it was still very enjoyable. The magic, mystery, humor, and excitement were all there, but at times it failed to fully capture the moment. In the end, it gets overshadowed by many of the other film installments. ☆☆☆1/2
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