Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
‘Spectacular Sequel’
“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is directed by Chris Columbus. Its script is written by Steve Kloves and based off a novel by J.K. Rowling. This film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Toby Jones, and Kenneth Branagh. Its plot follows Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) who ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts. He finds that the school is under a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice is haunting him. “The Chamber of Secrets” is the second film in the groundbreaking ‘Harry Potter’ franchise.
Chris Columbus directed “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” using strong entertainment value and an amazing script. Unfortunately, due to a very weak script and poor pacing, this film isn’t as good as the original. Columbus directs it by being too faithful towards the book. This results in the film being mediocre. However, there are reasons for people to see this film. The visual effects are glorious and breathtaking. The sets and costume design, like the first film, stand out to the extent that one cannot help but be astounded by them. Another reason to see this sequel would be because its much darker than the first one. Unlike the first, which was a completely kid-friendly film, this isn’t entirely. Its much scarier and features a more complicated plot. This allows an older audience to appreciate the movie.
Daniel Radcliffe reprises his role as Harry Potter with a growing maturity and confidence. He is at the top of his game in this film; capturing Harry’s innocence and bravery with perfection. The same can be said of both Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Of all the new characters that are introduced in this film, Kenneth Branagh and Toby Jones are the best at interpreting them. Branagh is excellent as Gilderoy Lockhart; he manages to grasp Lockhart’s personality and intentions with ease. Jones delivers a terrific voice-performance as Dobby the House Elf. The rest of the cast including Bonnie Wright, Richard Harris, and Maggie Smith is fine.
Two of the many problems associated with this film include a flawed script and long running time. Steve Kloves’ script is faithful towards the novel, yet it doesn’t offer the fantastic dialogue and character development that were featured in the first film of this franchise. Also, this film is nearly 3 hours which makes the pacing dragging and quite dull at times. Its surprising that “The Philosopher’s Stone” also had a long running time, because that film was in contrast much more entertaining. Nevertheless, this movie is still worth a watch for fans of the book.
4/5 stars
The Film Buff 
You must be logged in to post a comment.