Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

After The Philosopher's Stone became a huge success there was going to be this immediate impression that The Chamber Of Secrets was either going to be a very disappointing sequel, or it was going to be as awesome as its predecessor. However, The Chamber Of Secrets turned out to be my latter first impression, apart from a bit higher! Just like The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber Of Secrets became almost like a film for entertainment that gives the viewers more time to understand the characters a bit more before things get more personal.


In this second instalment, this almost becomes completely different, not only regarding characters but the style of the story. The story is admittedly quite slow and does take quite a while to get into the real plot of the story (the longest running Harry Potter film), but that doesn't effect my liking for this at all! One thing that the sequel lacks compared to its predecessor is the charm and magic for all families to enjoy. So, personally, The Chamber Of Secrets is better but that one weakness is where it isn't as good as its predecessor.


Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts School of Wizardry for his second year. After a confrontation with a house elf named Dobby, Harry escapes to the Weasley house with Ron Weasley in a flying car. They are then late for the train and have to ride it to school. When they get there, strange happenings invade the school. "Mudbloods" (people of Muggle families) are "petrified" by an evil monster lurking in the grounds. When every one suspects that it is him, the trio then set out to find the culprit and find out more than they bargained for: the diary of Tom Riddle, why Hagrid was expelled and what the Chamber of Secrets is and why is it so feared in Hogwarts.


After a disappointing performance from Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in the first one, there were the same expectations for this one as well. However, Dan's performance again wasn't entirely convincing as Harry, but he was at least a bit better in this one. So, I guess he could improve as the films progress, and as Dan gets to know the character a bit more. His acting is a bit forced at times which is the main weakness of his role as Harry. Rupert grint was good oncea gain as Ron Weasley. He perhaps was even funnier in this one because we saw a more cowardly Ron in this one. He is the unfortunate one to be best friends with Harry Potter of all people, but he becomes a hero in this one like in the rest of the films. Emma Watson proves once again that she is Hermione Granger for three reasons: a bookworm, a know-it-all and a girl with a heart. So, that pretty much sums up her character.


Although Robbie Coltrane wasn't in this film as much as The Philosopher's Stone, he still plays a very crucial role as Rubeus Hagrid. We go deeper into Hagrid's personal life in this one. Even after two great performances in the first two films from Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore compared to Michael Gambon in The Prisoner Of Azkaban onwards. I do honestly think that Harris was the much better Dumbledore. He showed stronger leadership, perhaps stronger power and we understand Dumbledore a lot more. Gambon was probably the best choice to replace Harris, but still prefer the older Dumbledore. Rest in peace, Richard Harris. In every single Harry Potter film, there is always one new teacher at Hogwarts (specifically Defense Against The Dark Arts) who are all different kinds of characters in The Philosopher's Stone there was Professor Quirrell and now in The Chamber Of Secrets, there is Gilderoy Lockhart. He is portrayed by Kenneth Branagh. Lockhart is a very likable character for me because he is an idiot who you can just laugh at, and Branagh portrayed that really well. So, it is a shame that he is only in this one.


After a great successful first film, Chris Columbus shines once again as director of The Chamber Of Secrets! I don't think there could've been a better director to start off a franchise so successfully. Out of the 8 films, there have been four directors in total for each of the films, but despite that, they feel a tad bit different every time; not only stories but they just look different and they become more adult as they progress. The script from Steve Kloves was a bit cliched at times and perhaps did last long, but it wasn't bad overall.


Overall, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets is an absolutely awesome sequel that truly lives up to its predecessor but a tad bit higher. The acting was decent enough to like and care for the characters, directing was brilliant and it was just great entertainment to watch! It unusually made me feel proud to be British as well for some reason. Original novelist J.K. Rowling should be proud!