A great improvement by Columbus

Rating: 7/10 (25 April 2009)

Like I said in my review of the Sorcerer's Stone, this film is a definite improvement by director Christopher Columbus from the first one. I think Chris was more comfortable and took more chances with this one. One thing that I couldn't help, but notice was how the cinematography changed. In the first film the color of the film is golden and bright, while in this one is a darker color and the brightness has been considerably diluted. Columbus said in a documentary about the making of this movie that the cinematography here was darker, because it suited the feel and environment of the story much better. In the first one everything is bright because we are getting to see Hogwarts for the first time, and it helps the audience fall in love with the school just like Harry. While in the second one we are already comfortable with the surroundings so things get darker because we see a darker side of Hogwarts that we didn't see in the first one. Again great acting by Radcliffe, Grint and Watson. And some great performances by newcomers Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs, Christian Coulson and Bonnie Wright. This is a great movie for kids and families, and a great addition to the HP franchise.