Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts turns out to be very different from what he expected. First he is warned to not return in the first place, but when he does strange things happen. He hears a voice in his head and there are attacks on the students leaving them petrified.Chamber of Secrets is the second movie and book in the Harry Potter series. Chris Columbus is the director again and it shows. Hogwarts is as beautiful as in the first movie and it is hard to not be completely drawn inside the magical walls. The recipe is the same and it works. We start of by following the daily life at school, but slowly we get hints at what is going on. And the epic climax at the end is at least as good as in the Sorcerer's Stone.
The acting also seems better although the dialog is still a bit forced. Daniel, Rupert and Emma have all improved and their chemistry also seems better. I was also positively surprised by Kenneth Branagh in his interpretation of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Jason Isaacs also deserves a nod for is scary performance as Lucius Malfoy.
Special effects are yet again amazing but do not distract from the story. The quidditch match is so well made it looks as just another real life sport and the snake in the end looks amazing. John Williams is also back again doing the music, but this time I felt as though something was missing. The theme is as fitting as ever, but the music is not as influential to the scenes as I would have liked.
Yet again Chris Columbus and his team have managed to create a beautiful and magic movie. Pretty much everything is perfect with just a few small flaws that are easily overlooked. It will be interesting to see if the next Harry Potter movie can live up to the first two in the series. 9/10
05.12.2010
