FOR THE second time, Harry Potter has enchanted box-offices worldwide with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second installment to the film version of J.K. Rowling’s popular book series.
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is back with his relatives, the Dursleys, for the summer. The sudden appearance and dire warnings of a house elf named Dobby mars Harry’s eagerness to return to Hogwarts for his second year. Nevertheless, Harry manages to return to school.
It’s classes once again and Quidditch time for Harry and friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) at Hogwarts. Dobby’s foretold danger unfolds with an ominous message, “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.” The message causes panic as one by one, muggle students (non-magical people) end up petrified. Hogwarts is now in danger of closing down due to the mysterious attacks. Worse for Harry, is he becomes the object of suspicion as his classmates discovers that he can speak parseltongue or snake language – a rare talent attributed to dark wizards.
As with the previous film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets features the same awe-inspiring set design, lavish costumes, and cutting-edge visual effects. Viewers get reacquainted with the majestic Hogwarts castle with its dark hallways, animated portraits, and moving staircases. Aside from that, everything they loved about the first film were also in its sequel: a breathtaking game of Quidditch, learning about magic in classes, casting spells, and exciting encounters with dangerous monsters.
The original cast and crew from last year’s Sorcerer’s Stone are back for Chamber of Secrets and this time, there are noticeable improvements. Unlike in the first film, director Chris Columbus made some attempts to innovate and insert some artistic visual styles of his own as evident in certain instances such as the flashback sequence of the tragedy 50 years ago, which was filmed in somber black and white to establish the mournful mood. Columbus also made slight alterations on some scenes that enhanced the film’s action and excitement. The flying car is almost hit by the Hogwarts Train and Harry almost falls off and the duel between Harry and archenemy Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton).
Another improvement of is that the second movie is more scary and funny than the previous adaptation. The atmosphere of doom that pervades in the book is deepened and firmly established in the film. The chase with giant spiders and the Basilisk. Will make viewers jump from their seats.
Humor spices up the adventure and breaks the gloom-and-doom flow of the story. Some of the memorable and funny moments include the Howler scene, Ron’s slug-spewing experience caused by his faulty wand, the de-boning of Harry’s arm, and Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) setting the pixies loose in class.
Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson reprise their roles as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, with more confidence and maturity in their acting. According to Radcliffe in a televised interview, he sees Harry as a more “pro-active” character in the sequel. Indeed, Radcliffe has brought his performance a notch higher.
Meanwhile, Grint’s comical facial expressions and hilarious side comments complement well with Radcliffe’s and Watson’s more serious characters.
Felton as Harry’s archenemy Draco Malfoy also gives a commendable performance, while Shirley Henderson is delightful as the oversensitive ghost Moaning Myrtle, who plays a key role in answering to the mystery of the chamber.
Supporting the young cast is an ensemble of seasoned British actors such as the late Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart), and Julie Walters (Molly Weasley). Isaacs and Branagh, give the most brilliant performances. Although his role as Lucius Malfoy appears in only a few scenes, Isaacs nevertheless portrays his role with such convincing menace that his sneering, jaw-twitching face leaves quite an impression. Branagh’s hilarious portrayal of the narcissistic and idiotic Lockhart is praiseworthy.
From the perspective of a fan, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a spectacular film adaptation of the book. It has all the magical ingredients that have made the book and its predecessor the Sorcerer’s Stone, such a hit.
But then, for all its improvements and modifications, it is a sad observation that for the second time, Columbus has failed to capture the magic of the Harry Potter books into film. Aside from the small attempts mentioned above, there is nothing significantly new with the visual styles of Chamber of Secrets. If one will take away the marvelous set design, props, costumes, visual effects, and the surrounding hype, Chamber of Secrets will be nothing more than another mediocre Hollywood movie. Compared with the marvelous cinematography of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, for example, all this film has to offer are few unremarkable landscape shots of the castle.
Being a filmmaker, it’s Columbus’ job to translate the book and its magic on film. Unfortunately, his limited imagination is not enough for such a task.
