Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review

starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris
director: Chris Columbus

The movie starts out wonderfully with a beautiful shot high above looking down onto hundreds of cookie-cutter style homes as it zooms into Harry's room. I like how we jump back into the same mind-set from the ending of the first movie to this one, even when the whole summer had passed. Harry looking at the moving pictures of his Mom and Dad, and of Ron and Hermione brought us right back to the story, reminding us of what had happened. As Uncle Vernon yelled for Harry to come downstairs, it was obvious that nothing substantial had changed. One of the first things I noticed was how deep everyone's voices got, especially Ron, Harry and Draco. It was a bit surprising at first, but that surprise wore off quick as the story progressed.

As soon as Dobby showed up, I immediately thought "Oh no, another Jar Jar Binks character," but I was gladly proven otherwise. Upon watching this film, I had not read a single page out of the Harry Potter movies and so the story presented to me on the big screen was all incredibly new to me. Dobby, even to this day, still looks amazing in that movie. The artists that made him and put him on the screen are genius because he doesn't look out of place at all. Dobby, the flying car, the bewitched knitting, and the bewitched dishwashing all looked fantastic. People certainly do not make movies like that anymore, actually using something tangible instead of creating it as a CGI figure/item.

The funniest person in the entire Harry Potter series makes his debut in this movie. Professor Gilderoy Lockheart, played by Kenneth Branagh, was simply hilarious. His timing and facial expressions were priceless, and I will always remember the lines he said. One of my favorites is "celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that" while talking to Harry, then suddenly looks away with the funniest smirk ever. I felt kind of sorry for him that he wasn't, or shall I say couldn't be in the final battle during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I believe he would have redeemed himself after what took place in the Chamber of Secretes.

Another person who makes his debut in the film is Lucius Malfoy, played by Jason Isaacs. I thought he played Lucius perfect throughout the entire series, as he is an amazing actor. The way he can turn up his intensity so immediately is inspiring.

I am truly thankful that they did not make a CGI Whomping Willow, because the scenes of Ron and Harry crashing into it were awesome. Perhaps the movies got a bigger budget, or that is how a director like Chris Columbus likes it, either way I enjoyed watching handmade material. I don't know exactly what happened to where Chris Columbus wasn't directing any of the other films, but I think Warner Bros. should have let him continue making them because he made them work. The CGI characters did not seem like they were CGI, unlike some of the other future films.

I am really quite sad that Richard Harris passed away after this movie. He was the perfect man to play as Albus Dumbledore. Really a great cast. He would have been amazing in the other battles and scenes in the other films.

The spider scenes were pretty intense. I, like Ron, hate spiders, so it was eerie watching hundreds of HUGE spiders rushing after the boys and Fang, Hagrid's dog. That would be one of my worst nightmares if spiders that big were actually real. Not to mention the Basilisk. The Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets is GIGANTIC. Anyone controlling that huge snake is truly evil. Christian Coulson played a very convincing part as Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Voldemort. I think he deserved to be cast in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince to make the films come together more (kind of like how George Lucas put in Hayden Christensen in the last scene of Star Wars Return of the Jedi as Anakin Skywalker's ghost during the Rebel Alliance celebration).

Overall this movie is fantastic, I have it on my computer so I can watch it whenever I please, along with some of the other HP films. Wonderful job by everyone who was involved, I think it's a classic that will be remembered throughout history and they should never remake this one, let alone any of the other HP movies. Also, a little Easter Egg: if you watch until after the credits have finished, you get to see Gilderoy Lockheart's latest book title :(