Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets-Awkward Years With My Wand in Hand
Alright folks there is a chamber of secrets, move along now. Yeah, the name kind of says it all. The second film in the global money vacuum cleaner known as the Potter Cash Cow, launches and more mystery unfolds. This is definitely not the highlight of the series as the film is long and at times confusing but there is still enough to entertain. The movie largely centers around students at Hogswarts being turned into stone and the mystery of who is the “evil-doer.” Its sort of like Scooby-Doo with British kids and magic and oh yeah, a kid that can’t really act. Myself I was expecting Angela Lansbury or Matlock to pop up. Try finding those references in any other Harry Potter review. It should go without saying that the Chamber of Secrets plays a role in all of this mystery.
While the weakest of the films there are some high-points. The CG is very good and Dobby while pretty annoying, is well done. The film feels more like a set up for other films both in character development and plotting. Radcliffe is still, honestly, a bit painful to watch. Initially, I was optimistic that he would improve, but I am losing hope. The rest of the young actors, Emma Watson and the rest seem as though they are coming along nicely.
When it is all said and done, the “meat” of these films is the unique cord that Rawling has struck with the audience and their thirst for a strong magic story to clutch onto and the visual effects. No doubt Potter has established itself as the magic version of Star Wars. Chris Columbus continues to do a fine job with the source material and he deserves some credit for that as it must be difficult to translate this kind of imaginative work onto the screen.
Story B+ (The story lacks the focus of the first film and seems a bit out of focus.)
Acting B+ (Good supporting players abound.)
Visuals B+
Originality/Innovation B
Enjoyability Grade B+
Home Theater/HD Factor A (Dobby will be fun in HD.)
Overall Grade B
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