SummaryThis second installment in the Harry Potter series finds young wizard Harry Potter (Radcliffe) and his friends Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson) facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts as they try to discover a dark force that is terrorizing the school.
SummaryThis second installment in the Harry Potter series finds young wizard Harry Potter (Radcliffe) and his friends Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson) facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts as they try to discover a dark force that is terrorizing the school.
Brimming with invention and new ideas, and its Hogwarts School seems to expand and deepen before our very eyes into a world large enough to conceal unguessable secrets -- What a glorious movie.
Darker and more dramatic, this account of Harry's troubled second year at Hogwarts may be a bit overlong and unmodulated in pacing, but it possesses a confidence and intermittent flair that begin to give it a life of its own apart of the literary franchise, something the initial picture never achieved.
Once again, the brilliant cast shines as they reprise their iconic roles in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint effortlessly capture the essence of their characters, bringing a depth and authenticity that mirrors their growth since the first installment. Their camaraderie is palpable, making us feel like we're part of their magical circle of friends. The introduction of new characters adds layers to the tapestry, with each performance blending seamlessly into this beautifully bewitching world!
A fun, fantastic adventure, but, watching it, I had the sense that it could have been even better than it is. I was diverted and entertained, but never truly absorbed.
This time around, Harry Potter has more to worry about than the Dark Arts -- though parts of The Chamber of Secrets are spellbinding, he seems to be suffering from a bit of sequelitis.
Not much in the way of captivating magic, but all the expected notes are duly played. Hope springs eternal for the next film in the series, though: Columbus is handing the reins over to Alfonso Cuaron, an actual movie director.
After watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone I had gotten really high hopes for the Harry Potter franchise. I was expecting all of them to be as simplistic and visually appealing as that movie. With that in mind I watched the second movie today and sadly, it doesn't live up to the mark on almost any of the parameters. That's not to say that it's a bad movie. It's not. But it's not a good Harry Potter movie.
To begin with, the movie's CGI hasn't aged pretty well. And that's actually really surprising because the first one was so good so this one should have had a higher budget and thus more advanced VFX. But other than the Basilisk, most of the CGI hasn't aged so well. Especially that of Dobby. When he was banging his head in the drawer in the beginning of the movie, the shelves of the drawer were shaking in the opposite direction of where they should shake. And when Harry puts Dobby in the wardrobe it looked more like the wind is opening the door instead of Dobby. There are plenty of examples of bad CGI in the movie but I don't want to take it too far.
Speaking of Dobby, he's had a very bad introduction. The way he is behaving is annoying. If I were to behave like that my mom would have slapped me all across the face. Sure he does get a wholesome ending, but that's yet to see how he turns out. Draco also became more annoying now, with constantly trying to bully Harry even though he can't do a thing. Myrtle spoke like a nerd Harley Quinn. I get this movie is trying to be campy, but that goes way too far.
The story is a good part here. Although it's not as easy as Sorcerer's Stone, it is still very nicely detailed. Too many incidents happen in it, but yet it does not feel bloated. It feels absolutely to the point, with none of that "side quest" things movies often use to pad the runtime. Everything happens for a reason and it all pays off in the end. The scenes with Ron, particularly in the beginning, are always funny and memorable. Though Hermione doesn't play as huge part in this movie as Harry and Ron do, she also gets a decent screen time, although without any character arc.
I'm still on the second movie of this franchise, so I can't exactly say if this is among the good movies or the bad ones. But I really hope the rest of the movies are more leaning towards the first one in terms of tone. I remember every scene right now, but I can see myself forgetting most of the parts in the next few months.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is even more thrilling and darker than it's predecessors, but it cannot be saved from an overrated and dull storytelling and a cliched character (Dobby) that make it fail and full of "sins".
The effects and the score and wonderful but thats not enough to save this wizard this time. Chamber of secrets, like its book, is very dull and boring. Honestly Its hard to watch it the full way through and not fall asleep