Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by allo for DanRadcliffe.com, 9th November 2002

Let's get the basics out the way first.  If you're a regular visitor to this site, or to any of the other major Harry Potter sites, you probably know the drill by now: this movie's darker, creepier, funnier and faster than the first one and the casting rocks.  And most of the reviews that have started to come out have pretty much said the same thing.  But we don't like doing the same old thing here so we're gonna get into this movie geek-style and really chew it over.  Perhaps toss a nice, fat spoiler or two in there for you (but not too many - don't want to spoil your party).

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is basically a movie of two halves.  The first half fairly whistles through the backstory and setup and tosses in some action sequences (flying car, Quidditch) for good measure.  This is where most of the humor is too - there are quite a few in-jokes from the first movie and several gags that had the audience outright howling with laughter (you know about the slug belching and the Howler, now watch out for the confrontation between Malfoy and a mandrake).  However, at some point you have to start telling the story so there's a bit of a welcome slowdown in pace around the Polyjuice potion and diary sections before the action picks up again and pelts towards the climax.

One thing that will become apparent very quickly to book readers is how much of the book had to be hacked away in order to shoehorn the movie into an already lengthy two-and-three-quarter hours.  The plot has had to be stripped down to its bare essentials, which must have meant some tough screenplay editing decisions again.  Book purists will probably howl at the omissions and abbreviated scenes (minimal Knockturn Alley, no de-gnoming, Deathday Party, Valentine message) but the knife has been wielded with obvious care and thought for transition between scenes and all the crucial elements are there and in the right order.

You also don't have to get too far into the second movie before it becomes apparent that the filmmakers took the lessons of the first movie to heart.  A common criticism of the first was that it was too faithful to the book.  In Chamber of Secrets, you're more likely to find the key scenes embellished for thrills (flying car, Quidditch, spiders, final chamber) and to be honest, it does help the book translate to the big screen.  The special effects have obviously had more care and attention lavished on them this time round too and this year's computer-generated creatures are far more convincing than in the first movie.  The woeful, pathetic figure of Dobby the House Elf is voiced and animated extremely well and manages to avoid the Jar Jar trap nicely.  Even the Ford Anglia shows a bit of personality, haughtily ejecting its passengers and luggage after the turbulent landing at Hogwarts and disappearing into the forest in a huff.  Quidditch zips by at breakneck speed again and there are some spectacular wipeouts by some of the players.  The rogue bludger is a particularly nasty and well-animated piece of work, smashing through the stadium woodwork at explosive speeds in its vicious pursuit of Harry and it really tries to finish the job properly at the end.  And anyone who hates spiders or snakes is going to leave the theatre with their skin crawling.  

The casting of the new characters, especially the adults, is absolutely superb.  Topping the list are Ken Branagh as preening Defense Against The Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart and Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father.  Both manage to redefine the word "oilslick" but in totally different ways.  Branagh's Lockhart is all outrageous smarmy charm and wobbly chin, while Isaacs is deliciously venomous as Malfoy, to the point where he actually comes across as more evil and menacing than You-Know-Who first time around.  Christian Coulson as former Hogwarts head boy Tom Riddle is all dark-eyed and crisp-toned sinister intensity.  Miriam Margolyes brings a bumptious, no-nonsense charm to Professor Sprout, Herbology teacher, while Gemma Jones is equally no-nonsense as nurse Madam Pomfrey.  Shirley Henderson turns in a delightful performance as squeaky-voiced bathroom ghost Moaning Myrtle, equal parts whimper and simper, and I would have liked to have seen much more of comedian Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley.  The returning staff are their usual stellar selves, although Alan Rickman gets far less exposure this time as Professor Snape and the late Richard Harris' Professor Dumbledore sounds noticeably frail.  Harris, who sadly died three weeks ago, received an enthusiastic round of applause from the audience when his credit appeared at the end of the movie .  

However, some of the other characters get very short shrift in this movie, to the point where it appears some have been left entirely on the cutting room floor.  Peeves (Rik Mayall) is still a no-show, along with new characters Mr Borgin (former punk Eddie Tudor-Pole, who I'd been looking forward to seeing...) and librarian Madam Pince (Sally Mortemore).  Zoe Wanamaker is also famously out of the picture as Quidditch instructor Madam Hooch, supposedly due to salary grievances, but considering that when the Quidditch sequence starts, Slytherin are already well into the process of sweeping the floor with Gryffindor, there wouldn't even have been time for her to toss a Quaffle in the air.  John Cleese, having had his big scene cut, is reduced to a floating cameo as Nearly Headless Nick.  The new students also have their roles reduced considerably - Hugh Mitchell's Colin Creevey, Harry's first-year fan, is much less of a pest than in the book and Percy Weasley's prefect friend Penelope Clearwater (Gemma Padley) is barely more than a greeting in a corridor.  Even the pivotal role of Ron's little sister Ginny (played by Bonnie Wright) is pruned down.  And it really does look as though all the trimming has been done due to time constraints.  One can only hope this means that there will be a lot of new footage on the DVD.

The principal kids are quite obviously more at home in their roles the second time around and I'll put your fears about their future to rest right here.  They might look all mature and stylish for the premieres and photo shoots but put any of them in a Hogwarts school uniform and they all pass very easily for the rosy-cheeked British schoolchildren that they really are.  Harry, Ron and Draco are all a little gruffer this year but on the whole the growth spurts and physical changes have been less pronounced and they're all keeping the same pace height-wise so no one looks out of place yet.  Tom Felton's Draco really is a snivelling, petulant brat this year, completely overshadowed by his father.  This is not a very happy movie for Draco as he gets his comeuppance a few times and a lot of laughs at his expense.  Emma Watson is much less starchy than last year and, despite a reduced role for Hermione in this book, has some fine scenes, especially the emotional one in Hagrid's hut when the trio and Hagrid are discussing the concept of Mudbloods.  Rupert Grint gets another batch of great lines and his comic timing and delivery are spot on.  Ron spends a lot of time being scared in this movie and Rupert's new Squeaky Voice of Terror captures the feeling nicely, especially when he has to deal with spiders!

And what of our hero, Harry, cos that's why most of us are on this page, right?  Dan's performance has definitely kicked up a notch since last year and the famously natural, underplayed delivery is still very much in evidence.  Despite the fact that Harry is largely written as the "straight guy" to Ron's "comedy guy", he manages to get in a few humorous scenes of his own, especially at the Dursleys', where he tries to hide Dobby during a confrontation with Uncle Vernon and later tries to save the violet pudding.  And a few classic facial expressions too, such as his horror when watching a demonstration of travel by Floo Powder or when Lockhart tries to mend his broken arm after the Quidditch match.  There's much less opportunity for wide-eyed wonderment in this movie, although Dan can still rustle it up when needed.  Now Harry's on home turf at Hogwarts, he can afford to be a little sassier and there's a definite twinkle about his eye,  especially when dealing with Lockhart  or Malfoy Sr towards the end of the movie.  

The new deep voice lends itself nicely to some of the lines, most notably the purred "You wish" in the duel and the "I will be" to Malfoy Sr, and is also put to great effect in the scene where Hermione is in the hospital wing.  Harry's anguished plea - "Hermione, we need you now more than ever" - to his stricken friend is one of the most touching scenes in the whole movie.  By the time Harry reaches the final chamber scene, he's very much hit his stride and his sense of terror and urgency really shine through.  The exchanges with Tom Riddle are particularly intense and Harry really shows his true grit when attempting to defeat his foe.  This was probably my favorite scene.

Chris Columbus and the FX crew have already given Dan kudos for his scenes with Dobby and they deserve special mention because they are indeed exceptional.  You really get the impression that Dobby is right there in front of Harry's eyes, and at one point in his grasp - there's none of that staring blankly through the CG character or looking over its shoulder.  Harry delivers one of his best lines to Dobby at the very end of the movie - the utterly deadpanned but ever so slightly menacing "Don't ever try to save my life again!"

The closing sequence is a little on the sappy side and could have been paced a lot better, i.e. quicker, but proves a good place to end the movie (the book kind of drags its ending out a bit).  The Big Hug between Hermione and Harry was a rather over-dramatic addition to the story but if anything comes over as very big brotherly.  It makes the reunion between Hermione and Ron - a rather stiff handshake - look all the stranger.  A handshake??  

Oh, yeah, that's not QUITE the end of the movie there.  It is worth hanging around through the lengthy credits for a humorous little scene right at the end that doesn't appear in the book but offers a very comical solution to one of its great unsolved mysteries.

Final thoughts?  The admission price will be well spent and you'll barely notice the length (unless you have the mega soda of course...).  Like the first movie, it's visually lush and beautifully executed.  As it stays firmly in the family movie camp, it probably won't be regarded as an award-winning cinematic masterpiece but it was a highly enjoyable and entertaining way to pass the time.  I'd give it 9.5/10.