The book phenomenon known as “Harry Potter” has swept the world in huge bursts. There is Harry Potter dish soap, Harry Potter skateboards, Harry Potter toothbrushes, Harry Potter video games, so there is definitely going to be movies.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book and movie and I think the best one so far. Something that plagued the predecessor movie was that the actors were awkward towards each other, they didn’t have good chemistry at all and you didn’t believe that they (the three main kids) were friends. They were also crappy actors. I’m glad to say that in Chamber of Secrets, these plagues were taken care of and diminished.

Something that I love about these Harry Potter movies is the visual experience. Sure, when you read the books, you can visualize where something’s happening and stuff, but with the movies, you actually see it before your eyes. The Harry Potter movies does this really well and lets you see what the Whomping Willow looks like and what the Great Hall looks like and what the classrooms really look like and I think that’s fantastic.

THE STORY

It’s Harry Potter’s second year at Hogwarts (the school that teaches kids witchcraft and wizardry) and he finds that he can’t go through the portal to get to the train that goes there, so he takes a flying car to the school and gets in trouble with one of his best friends, Ron Weasly. From that point on students have been getting attacked and petrified by a creature roaming the halls, so it’s up to Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, and Hermione Granger to stop the beast that lurks the halls.

There are some plot twists throughout the story and you will be guessing until the last twenty minutes who the perpetrator is. The movie plays out like the book, but there are some details that the screenwriter, Steve Kloves (side note: overall he did the screenplay really well and I would guess it would be pretty hard to know J.K. Rowling’s vision of the movie), left out, but it’s fine.

Something that I would like to note is that the actor who played Albus Dumbledore died of old age (I think). He was a wonderful actor that was also in “Gladiator”. Personally, he was one of my favorite actors. His talent was extraordinary and surpassed all of my expectations of his character. I don’t know who will replace him in the third movie, but the actor who does, will NEVER replace the older actor. Rest in peace, man.

Something that a lot of people will notice by the end of the movie is that it was really longer than the first. The second movie is around 161 minutes. The movie doesn’t get boring, but there are a couple of places in the movie where you wish something exciting were happening.

Some key actors who I really like that were in Harry Potter 2 were Alan Rickman (“Dogma”) and Maggie Smith (“Sister Act”). They are wonderful actors and really make the film memorable. Alan Rickman plays the villain (or is he the villain??) Professor Snape and Maggie Smith plays the sweet Griffindor House Leader Professor McGonnagal. Maggie Smith is such a wonderful lady and I think she’s perfect for her character. She remains nice even when she is disciplining Harry Potter and she has a sort of humorous expression sometimes that makes her a great actress. Alan Rickman is so awesome. You can really get to hate him—but he’s a character that you love to hate. Although he’s mean throughout most of the movies, I see a sort of happiness shining through his mean façade.

So there are two movies that you want to see: Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets and Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. Which one should you see? I think that if you have younger kids that love Harry Potter and have read all the books, let them see Harry Potter, but if you have older kids and they have read the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy and they know a lot and are smart (don’t ask), take them to see The Two Towers because they will understand it more. Harry Potter is a family movie and The Two Towers is a date movie (hee hee).

One word: Quidditch. In each movie so far there has only been ONE scene that showcases the amazing sport played on broomsticks, that has to change because these scenes are thrilling and awesome to see in theatres. The scene in Chamber of Secrets is fun to watch, but it wasn’t really as wonderous as the scene in the first one. The whole scene in Harry Potter 2 is just Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter’s child nemesis) and Harry chasing after the Golden Snitch (a golden flying ball). It’s awesome to watch because they are interweaving in and out of rafters in the stadium, but that’s all it is. Bah humbug.

Something that I wanted to add before I end this is that the amazing composer John Williams (of more movies than I can list on all of my hands and feet) does an amazing score that really sets the pace for the film. His main theme for Harry Potter is enchanting and is full with wonder, but still has a dark sound with hatred. His scores throughout the movie are beautiful and fantastic. It’s worth it to buy the soundtrack. It’s good.

MY FINAL THOUGHT

Go out and see Harry Potter 2 if you love the books, but don’t go if you only want to see the movie to get out of reading the books because the books are a whole lot better and should be read by everyone. The movie doesn’t have many flaws, so you should definitely buy it when it comes out. Thanks for reading and have a jolly good day.

JiggyJay


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12