Reviewed by: Le Apprendi

If there is one thing sequels are notorious for, it is trying to top the original often in quantity of entertaining treats over overall quality of material to cash in further on the success of the original. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has the misfortune to be bewitched in that regard. It still has the power to entertain adoring Harry Potter fans of all ages, and will probably leave them coming back for more. But beneath its magic wands and Nimbus series broomsticks, this theatrical concoction is one class lower than its predecessor Sorcerer's Stone. Without reading the book, I can't tell how faithful Chamber of Secrets is to J.K. Rowling's novel. I will give Ms. Rowling the benefit of the doubt that Chamber of Secrets the novel is far richer and more developed than the film version. Considering that Chamber of Secrets the novel has almost twice the number of pages as Philosopher's Stone, it is a sure guess how much details from the novel have been omitted: a lot!

First off, the returning cast. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his two best buddies – the brainy Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and the seemingly brainless (or so his behavior indicates) Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) – for Year 2. The school principal is the aged Albus Dumbledore, who as usual dotes on Harry and reserves all the good advices for him. He is joined by Professors Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), ghost Nearly Headless Nick (John Cleese), gatekeeper Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) (IV), groundskeeper Argus Filch (David Bradley), Sorting Hat (voiced by Leslie Phillips), and Potter's ‘Iceman' Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) from the house of Slytherein. The newcomers to the Potter world are Draco's father Lucius Malfoy (Jason Issacs), his elven slave Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones), professor Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh), ghost Moaning Myrtle (Shirley Henderson), sorcerer Tom Riddle (Christian Coulson) and Ron's smarter sister Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright).

So what's the story this time? After Harry and Ron return to Hogswart in an enchanted car, things begin to get awry. Writings appear on the wall in blood, students being immobilized, a book is thrown at Myrtle, and Lucius Malfoy hogging a substantial amount of screen time for no apparent reason. The writings claimed that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, the consequence of which are death to the mudbloods – magic-practitioners who have no ‘sorcery' bloodline. For some reason, the thrown book is connected to it, and so is the Tom Riddle guy who is from the past. Then this elf pops up claiming to be a slave and endangering Harry's life to save him. (Note: In Middle-Earth, elves can become kings and archers. In Hogwarts world, they are slaves even though they possess magical abilities greater than their owners.) Before anyone knows it, a horde of spiders crawl from all over the place, and the school corridor is flooded with water. Regarding those spiders, Ms. Rowling probably was not inspired by the events in Eight-Legged Freaks when characterizing them, but director Chris Columbus appeared to have taken his cue from that box-office flop. Watching Harry and Ron trying to escape from them brings back those fond memories.

Like most sequels, the plot thins down. The magic of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is that it introduces a whole new world of sorcery and adventure, in which kids can learn to be wiccans and fight bad guys. More importantly, it balances the story with stunning special effects (and not to forget a wickedly spellbinding score by John Williams). All that magic has been reproduced in Chamber of Secrets, but the awe and wonder impressed upon by Sorcerer's Stone is absent as the magic trinkets that once impressed are now standard weavings that audiences are more than prepared for. The magical elements are not enhanced, only multiplied in quantity. Similarly, so is the amount of idiotic comedy and illogical character interactions that permeates the entire movie. Ron, the loyal dependable sidekick, is the resident butt of all the jokes, and sadly is also annoying to anyone that does not find him funny. Is there anything else to Lucius Malfoy besides being Draco's father and Dobby's owner? Speaking of Dobby, he is baffling in the way he is written. He is certainly not afraid to attack someone whose a fearsome reputation of defeating Valdemort, and incur the wrath of his owner by visiting Harry to admit his actions. So either he is feigning timidity, which makes no sense as it does not explain why he has to be that way to begin with, or he is genuinely timid, which also makes no sense when he has the backbone to attack Harry and later Lucius. I am curious to find out Rowling's original take on Dobby because this is clearly a case of bad scriptwriting.

As can be expected, the cast members fit as nicely into their characters as they can be in a children's storybook. There are no thespian level performances, yet there is a show stealer – Emma Watson. From the annoying know-it-all in Sorcerer's Stone, Hermione has developed into a richer character, even becoming an object of bigotry as she is a mudblood. Because of her age, Watson's acting ability is not yet fully fleshed out, but she has a sparkling presence. Radcliffe can still hold his own. His Maverick-Iceman confrontations with Draco are, in Ron's words, ‘wicked'. But he is growing up, and with it gradually losing the boyish charm that earned him the title role. He will need plenty of drama preparation for Prisoner of Azkaban come 2004.

In some ways, Chamber of Secrets is like Sorcerer's Stone in style down to its conclusion. That is why moviegoers will still enjoy it just because. Whether they know it or not, a dark spell has already been cast that can threaten to destroy the wonderful world of Harry Potter. The worst kind that has destroyed great franchises before – the sequel curse. Chamber of Secrets is bearing some of its symptoms. It is only a matter of time before the whole world finds out if Prisoner of Azkaban is the next advanced stage or the death blow. Fans can only hope it's not the latter.

Special thanks to Movie-Vault