Directed by:
Chris ColumbusScreenplay:
Steve KlovesCinematography:
Roger PrattCast:
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Griffiths, Alan Rickman, Richard Harris, Fiona Shaw, Robbie Coltrane (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Harry Potter has not had a good summer. Not only has he had to put up with his overbearing Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley and their dread of his magical abilities, but it seems as if Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger have forgotten him as they haven't replied to a single one of his letters. Then, suddenly and mysteriously, house-elf Dobby appears in Harry's bedroom and warns him of great danger if he should attempt to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But despite the elf's mischievous efforts to thwart Harry's return to school, the ever determined Harry is rescued from the Dursley's dreary clutches by Ron and his brothers and whisked into the warmth of the Weasley household. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry finds that his first year heroics have caused him to become the center of much unwanted attention. His new fans include Ron's little sister Ginny; first year would-be photographer Colin Creevey; and most irritatingly, the New Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. Outshone only by his own vanity, Lockhart craves the attention that Harry shuns. But not even Lockhart can offer an explanation for the sinister new terror that is gripping the school. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
Still too long and conceptually the same as the first one, but this time properly atmospheric and more original in the staging of the climactic scenes (the passage with the giant spiders is simply amazing, likewise, for its time, the fight with the basilisk). Plus, well-developed characters and a very skilled straddling between a very dark film and an innocent fairy tale for children. Of course, needless to say, had it stayed exclusively on the dark side, it would have been awesome, but that’s understandably impossible... 80%
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Well, this is definitely more watchable than The Philosopher's Stone... The atmosphere is a few shades darker, with the story thrown into a kind of Gothic gloomy and mysterious garb. For the first 40 minutes, I kind of yawned through the shower of digital effects and purely illustrative films that didn't do much for me as a non-reader of the books, but during the rest of the runtime it was a much fresher experience. It's just too bad that Columbus can't give the film more charm and poetry than the visual effects and artwork give it. And, of course, the actors, of whom I was most pleased by the eccentric egotist Kenneth Branagh... Unfortunately, the director is a routinist in every way, the author is every inch a conservative and a loner, which may benefit the film as a book illustration, but not the film as a film... Some scenes have a huge charge in them, which Columbus zeroes out with unruly and mechanical direction without a hint of invention (e.g., the spider scene in the Forbidden Forest) and sometimes it would benefit the film more to cling to the storyline and not overwhelm the viewer with details as much. In the end it's quite amusing, though quite stretched, and it's nice-looking, but it lacks more pronounced poetics... There is something good waiting in there, and when a handy director wakes it up... well, let's wait for the next films.
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Better than the first one in every aspect, much darker and therefore much closer to my tastes. Radcliffe as Potter is once again dreadfully plankish, the actors playing Ron and Hermione are better, they are undeniably talented. Some of the scenes are so scary that little kids must get the creeps. For example, as an arachnophobe, I barely made it through the scene with the spiders. And back to Radcliff, I’m surprised they gave such a big role to a wooden actor like him. But when I see that one of the producers just happens to be called Radcliffe, I'm wonder if there wasn’t some nepotism involved. Anyway, in conclusion, I would just like to add that my desire for the Nimbus 2000 has passed. Now I want the Nimbus 2001, it’s supposed to have better aerodinamics.
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Except for the overly annoying Dobby, who I didn't even like in the book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is better than the first installment in every way. First of all, it is more entertaining, but also the stunts and action scenes have improved (the Quidditch has finally got some pizzazz), the plot is more interesting with "something/someone" threatening the students' lives, and the visit to Aragog's house is pleasantly scary. Again, I have no complaints about the child actors (okay, okay, Rupert Grint makes too many faces, I admit), and of the adults, I was impressed by Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. And needless to say, every sentence and every glance of Rickman's Snape and Isaacs' Malfoy is also worth it.
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Chris Columbus took on a task of gigantic proportions. Not only did he have to follow up on the success of the first film without repeating it, but he also had to adapt a book that holds the most ambiguous position in the entire series. It serves only to bring the reader (in this case, the viewer) closer to the characters and to create a strong connection with them for the future installments. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone introduced the heroes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire bring crucial parts of the mythology and key chapters of the entire history of the wizarding world. That's why I admire the director for handling everything with grace, even though he basically allowed the book to be almost entirely re-written in the screenplay without rushing it. Many creators would have stumbled with all the scenes that are typical of the Harry Potter series and that may seem unnecessarily drawn-out to regular viewers, such as the introduction of the Dursleys or Dobby's repeated hysterics, and would have ended up with an unwatchable bore. Chris Columbus heard countless complaints after the release of the film, calling him a mere people-pleaser who made a harmless family spectacle with no atmosphere, but in reality, he created two films that the series desperately needed and laid the groundwork for Alfonso Cuaron and others to experiment as they pleased.
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