Review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) by Darren C — 21 May 2012

It's quite rare that a sequel actually betters itself from it's predecessor, however Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets does that and more. Whilst Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a brilliant movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets takes it a step further in almost everything. So this time, Harry Potter and friends are prepared to go back to Hogwarts for another year of school, however he is warned by a house-elf called Dobby to stay away for his life is in danger if he returns. Ignoring the warning, Harry returns only to find mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him. Director Chris Columbus returns to direct the wizarding phenomenon that has enchanted the world and he did a great job with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone but he's done even better in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This time, the story is much darker yet it still keeps the lightness of the first movie close to its chest in the form of the music which, again, John Williams has done a terrific job of. As I have said in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone review, the music in the movies is truly magnificent and really adds to the feel of the movie whether it's a happy, sad or touching moment. Just like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has some truly great performances in the form of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. They played their parts perfectly as well as Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy and Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid. I must also mention Richard Harris, who was a brilliant actor, had played the part of Albus Dumbledore magnificently.

The CGI and special effects in the movie are great and the quality of the movie itself is brilliant. Just like the previous movie, the locations and the detail in the movie is just fantastic to watch and very colourful, you really feel like visiting the places where the movie was shot. The writing for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is well-written as, yet again, it's quite a faithful adaptation to the book as it keeps the tone and mood, which is a little more darker than Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Although there's a couple of things missing from the movie that was in the book, the movie does brilliantly by sticking to the story and the personality of the characters. Overall, I think that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is very loyal to the book and is in my top three favourite Potter movies at the moment (we'll see if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I will take over).

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is one of my favourite books from the series, along with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the movie does very well as an adaptation and Dobby has to be one of the most lovable characters in the entire series. A brilliant family movie that I would recommend to anybody with a family or anybody who likes magic and witchcraft movies.