Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Robbie Coltrane, Kenneth Branagh
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Classification: PG
Running Time: 161 Minutes
Special Features:
Menu Animation & Audio
Main Menu Audio & Animation
Listing-Cast & Crew
Featurette: Year One at Hogwarts
Theatrical Trailer
Featurette: Game Preview (6)
Deleted Scenes: 19
Gallery-Photo
Gallery: Certificates
Featurette: Required Reading
DVD-ROM Extras
Featurette: Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Steve Moves
Featurette: Build A Scene (Dumbledore’s Office);Tour Dumbledore’s Office
Interviews-Cast & Crew
Gallery: Production Sketches
Game: The Chamber Challenge; The Forbidden Forest Challenge
Game: Colin’s Darkroom; Tour Diagon Alley; Spellcaster’s Knowledge
Harry Potter is well known and well loved by people of all ages. Following the familiar pattern of all the books, we follow Harry from his holidays with the vile Muggles, the Durlsley’s, where Harry visited by a house elf, Dobby. Dobby wants to stop Harry going to Hogwarts at all costs, in order to save his life from an unknown threat. Dobby creates a ruckus that ruins Uncle Vernon’s chance at a promotion, and Harry is blamed and locked in his room.
His friend Ron Weasley, and Ron’s twin brothers Fred and George set Harry free in their dad’s flying car. After missing the train to Hogwarts, Ron and Harry steal the car and chase the train, eventually getting to school and winding up in trouble. That is only the start though, as Harry hears a mysterious voice, and people start becoming petrified by an unseen monster, and a bloody message tells the school that the Heir of Slytherin has returned and opened the Chamber of Secrets. Suspicion is instantly thrown on to Harry, and he and his friends must try and solve the riddle of the Chamber of secrets before more people get hurt, or even killed.
I’ve always thought that these films are brilliantly cast, and this one is no different. Maintaining the core cast, we get to see them as they’ve developed as actors and people, and give the notion of time passing as we can see they are getting older. New additions to the cast include Shirley Henderson, wonderful in the role as Moaning Myrtle, and the casting of Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart is inspired. Jason Isaacs is suitably sinister as Lucious Malfoy, and Dobby the house elf is wonderfully voice acted by Toby Jones. The acting has come along way, with the development of Ron and Malfoy’s characters is especially apparent. The way the younger actors interact with the animated sets and creatures is astoundingly believable.
The main stars of the film are the visual effects, from the excellently rendered Dobby, to the Whomping Willow, the Ghosts, and especially Hogwarts itself, with its massive spires and moving staircases. It is a wonderful blend of computer graphics and expertly designed sets, brilliantly lit and dressed with all manner of magical and mundane items. The time and consideration gone into making the world of Harry Potter believable shines through. Further demonstrating the improvement in visual direction of this film compared to the last is the Quidditch match, which is a fast and furious rollercoaster ride that demonstrates the speed and danger of the game captured so well in the books. I thought the first films’ Quidditch match was rather average, but this one makes it far more believable and exciting.
There are a few problems with the film. Whilst this film is darker than the first film, the book is far more sinister and spooky, and it doesn’t really come out that well. Then again, you can’t scare the kids too much. Also, the film does seem to be much like the first, in the way it progresses through the story. Certain aspects of the book that are important seem glossed over in the film. For example, Harry is believed to be the Heir of Slytherin by the students, but this is hardly impressed on the audience at all to the same degree in the book.
These are the minor things that can be overlooked, but a major problem is the speed at which the film moves. Certain things seem to jump along in an episodic nature, meaning you get the feeling the story has missed something, and whilst there are no gaping holes in the plot, it is not as coherent as the first film, or the book. Furthermore the film is long, 161 minutes long, which is a very lengthy time to sit still and watch a film, especially for a younger audience. Thank God for the Pause button!
The additional footage on the extra DVD is pretty much what you come to expect from DVDs, containing cut scenes (which interestingly enough do expound on the Heir of Slytherin theme), mini-doco’s, and behind the scenes footage. Whilst it pertains more to the cinephile in us all, there are a few kids based activities and games that will keep the younger audience happy, but there’s nothing outstanding, and the interview with JK Rowling and scriptwriter Steven Kloves is just tedious, as the same questions seem to be asked over and over.
All in all Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an enjoyable romp through a wonderfully designed, magical world, as it should be. Although long, and much the same as the previous film, and whilst it does seem to jump rather than flow, it is enjoyable to watch. The acting has improved, the visual effects are fantastic, the audio is well suited to the movie, and it captures the essence of the book and the world of Harry Potter really well.