![]() The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take If ' was the get-it-out-of-the-way first chapter in the series that had to set everything up, then 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' is the one where the filmmakers could finally let loose and just tell a great story. Superior in all respects to the first film (which was wasn't bad in and of itself), 'Chamber of Secrets' is more fun, more fanciful, and more engaging. Although I wouldn't call it the best Harry Potter movie, it certainly steered the series in the right direction. Shot back-to-back with 'Sorcerer's Stone,' 'Chamber of Secrets' features most of the same creative personnel as its predecessor. Director Chris Columbus returns, as does screenwriter Steve Kloves and all of the cast. Amazon.com: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [Blu-ray]: Daniel Radcliffe. David Bradley, Christian Coulson, Robert Hardy, Chris Columbus: Movies & TV. Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Catalan, Chinese, Danish, Dutch,. But if the huge weight of tackling the very first big-screen Potter left Columbus and Kloves a bit too focused on cramming in every last magical cranny of Rowling's text, with 'Chamber of Secrets' they are, if not completely liberated, than certainly far more confident to move beyond a simple carbon copy of the book in celluloid form. The narrative twists and turns of 'Chamber of Secrets' don't get anywhere near as dark as Rowling's later installments, but the movie still tones down the family-friendly excesses of 'Sorcerer's Stone' to positive effect. As Rowling would continue to do with each of the installments in the series, 'Chamber of Secrets' repeats many of the same basic scenarios and thematic motifs from the first story, but adds new layers of depth by revealing new secrets. Harry (Daniel Radcliff) will learn a host of new powers, but he'll also get into more trouble -- Rowling is particularly adept at using magic as a counterpoint to adolescence. Likewise, Harry's relationships with Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) will grow more intertwined and more rich with emotion, offering tantalizing hints at future complications to come. Rowling also fleshes out the roles of the adult characters, integrating them into the story to surprisingly resonant effect, particularly Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid and Richard Harris' Dumbledore, both of whom will eventually become mentors (of very different kinds) for Harry. Even better, Columbus and his team of filmmaking wizards finally begin to let a bit of darkness creep into the visuals of 'Chamber of Secrets.' Though the sets are the same as the first time around (a nice benefit of the back-to-back shooting approach), there are more dark corners hiding at the edges of the frame, with new director of photography Roger Pratt painting his shots with a grimier palette. There is also a more palpable sense of danger to the action, with the surreal visions that haunt Harry being more visceral and frightening than anything seen in 'Sorcerer's Stone.' Even the recycling of the same action setpiece -- the famous Quidditch match -- is more suspenseful and far better executed in terms of special effects. Having said all that, 'Chamber of Secrets' is not a perfect film. Its 166 minutes are packed with so many superfluous bits of Rowling's text that many of the book's most meaty dramatic scenes are left feeling rushed.
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December 2018
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