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| HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS Director: Chris Columbus Producers: David Heyman & Chris Columbus Screenplay: Steve Kloves & J. K. Rowling UK Release Date: 15/11/2002 Official Website |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as if you didn't know, is based on the second installment of J.K. Rowling's vast, money-making franchise. Almost of all of the cast return from 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Except Zoe Wannamaker (Madame Hooch), she got a bit arsey about not being paid for her image being used in the computer game. So this movie's superb Quidditch match seqeunce lacks a referee. Not that she managed to stop any of the blatant cheating last time. This is a more enjoyable movie than its impressive forbearer. Without the need to introduce not only a host of characters, but an entire new way of life to the audience, Chamber sets things up and gets into the action much quicker. And there is more action and humour this time round. Daniel Radcliffe has improved as the eponymous hero. He still has some way to go to compete with his contemparies though. Ron, Hermione and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Wood, are all far more natural than Harry's gushing and over-earnest school kid. There is a sense, particularly when Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) is sent to Azkabhan Prison, Headmaster Dumbledore (Richard Harris) is suspended, and any scene with Lucius Malfoy, that the events in the adult world of wizardry are more interesting than the juvenile one. This is something I felt when I read the books, and is exacerbated on the silver screen by the high-quality adult actors, whose interesting characters really deserve more screen time. Chris Columbus� remains as faithful to Rowling�s second book as the first, and once more it pays dividends. It all bodes well for the eventual adaptation of the (thus far) best in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The way Warner Bros is churning the movies out, there (hopefully) won�t be such a huge delay between the superb cliff-hanger ending of Goblet, and the fifth episode, as there has been in the literary sequence. 8/10 |