spoilers...

Ahhh...familiar characters are like visiting old friends, and the Harry Potter movies are no different, especially if you've spent time in the books (there are four now) and watched the first movie. The beginning of the second movie finds Harry once again being held hostage by his non- (or anti-) magic step-family. Through a series of adventures, he (once again) comes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and (once again) has a series of adventures with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. (I think the best thing about the movies was learning to pronounce Hermione - I had one pronunciation down reading the books and a second listening to the first book on CD - neither were the pronunciation in the film.)

The film starts off splendlidly as it is exciting to be once again steeped in the world of Harry Potter, much like he looks forward to the end of each summer when he can leave his tedious, non-magic world and return to Hogwarts. In fact, Chamber of Secrets is as entertaining as Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (the first movie, to the unitiated). Harry, Ron and Hermione must figure out what is causing a rash of petrifications, figure out who has opened the Chamber of Secrets (and how to get it open) and determine what that weird voice is that echoes through the walls and seems to speak only to Harry.

The returning cast once again gives a fine performance, and new characters Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) and Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs) are nothing short of brilliant.

And, we learn more about the characters - Ron is poor, he's afraid of spiders, and Hermione's parents are not wizards. But we don't learn enough about the characters. The biggest problem with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is that it follows the natural path of the sequel and becomes less of a movie than the original. It succumbs to the problem so many movies have these days and becomes more about the action and special effects and less about the characters. Where a sequel is concerned, it's almost a law that it has to be judged by it's predecessor. I don't necessarily believe you have to follow the "screenwriting formulae" to have a good movie, but Chamber was Sorceror's Stone with more style and less substance.

This can work for some movies, but I think it's out of place here.

If these movies were a superhero franchise or the Indiana Jones films, they would be, primarily, about the adventure. But they're not. They are about growing up, about trying to find your place in a world that sometimes doesn't accept you. The Harry Potter books sell, not only because J.K. Rowling can write a gripping tale, but because all of us, regardless of age, can relate to Harry Potter.

In the translation of book to film, some of this character development just gets lost. I understand that there's only a limited amount of time here and the Harry Potter movies stretch an already dwindling ADD-attention-span audience; but the characters, their growth and their relationships are integral to the story. The movie based on the third book (The Prisoner of Azkaban) comes out in June '04, and there's already talk about having to break the fourth book (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) into two movies. So, maybe in the next few films, we'll spend a little more time with the characters, and a little less time with the adventure.

And Fred and George Weasley (Ron's twin brothers), who are the funniest characters in the books, get almost no screen time. What's that about!?

In all, I'd have to say I was disappointed in Chamber of Secrets, but only because the first Harry Potter movie set the bar so high. I'd still have to say that it was thoroughly enjoyable and a lot of fun.

			See it if you're a fan of Harry Potter, if you need to get your magic fix while waiting for the Return of the King, or if you expect a sequel to be less than the original. Don't see it if you expect a sequel to surpass the first, or if you believe that article* in The Onion a few years back.

*Harry Potter Books Spark Rise in Satanism Among Young Children, The Onion, Vol. 36, Issue 25

© 2003 Jim Manchester

Originally posted to Reel People, 7/27/03