Movie Review : Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets (2002)
Country:
USA
Recognizable Faces:
Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Watson
Token Creepy Ginger Kid
Directed By:
Chris Columbus
Yes, I am dead serious about this Harry Potter thing. Now that me feet are wet, I am going to get through this and understand every ins and outs of the phenomenon. Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets has been, in many ways, something surreal to watch and while not being deserving of a full review for its content, it surely his for its form. See, if the Harry Potter franchise started as a series of video games, Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets wouldn't be a full title, but rather an expansion pack or a downloadable episode. It's fun, but it's in no way worth a full feature presentation.
In vernacular, what I'm saying is that it doesn't feel like Harry Potter 2, but more like Harry Potter 1.B. I'm not sure who's to blame for this. J.K Rowling, or Chris Columbus, who I would point the finger to more easily, due to his cramped Hollywoodian style. The Chamber Of Secrets is Harry's second year in Hogwarts, the sorcerer's school where he was told he shouldn't return but did anyway. He's hearing voices and people around the institution are starting to turn into stone for no apparent reason. Of course, the bunch of politicians running the school know exactly what's going on, but leave Harry to fend for himself and find the truth on his own, since they all seem to be old and impotent. A new addition to the crew is Prof. Gilderoy Lockhart (Ken Branagh) is a notable loser with a potent fear of his own shadow.
So Harry discovers about the Chamber Of Secrets, created a long time ago by the Slytherin house and holding this terrible monster. He also finds out that the chamber has been opened fifty years ago and that a kid named Tom Marvolo Riddle (Chris Coulson) was implicated in the whole ordeal. I don't know if the whole plan was to do a prequel or to organize a "tale of origins" for Harry, but the multilayer drama approach just doesn't work here. Harry doesn't have a clue what to look for during the whole movie, he's just trying to limit the casualties and stop the bleeding. While I don't have a problem with that style of movies, I don't think it's really suiting what the character of Harry Potter is about (the approach of responsibility and the critical vision of the institutions) and is based on Hollywoodian plot twists rather than on character development, like in the first.
Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets isn't a bad movie, but it's rather irrelevant. It's a shallow and formulaic sequel to a surprisingly gripping first chapter. Same characters, same setting, same rivalries, with an sub-plot weaved in, that doesn't have all the space that it needs to have in order to convince me that it mattered. But the sub-plot ended up being what the whole plot was about, so if you didn't pay attention to it, you'll end up being pretty confused. I'm still holding my breath and gunning for the third chapter, which is airing on TV Saturday night. I have been told this is where things really lift off. But I wasn't impressed with the second chapter, who's buried in technical and storytelling blunders who make it irrelevant to the first.
