Contender for the worst film sequel ever, I'd say?

Rating: 4/10 (25 December 2013)

It's startling how such a marvellous movie series can have on such an aberration, especially considering how it comes from the same director that made Philosopher's Stone such a wonderful and rewatchable family film. Chamber of Secrets in contrast won't please either of the family members: the kids are only going to be disturbed by the violence and intensity in it, while the adults are likely to laugh at how ridiculous these particular scenes are made. Why not pursue the darker, grittier style the way every sequel after this one did, especially when the subject has moments as terrifying for young children as Chamber of Secrets has. But enough of that because the false approach and the shocking PG rating (both in the UK and the US) aren't the reason this film has disappointed me as heavily as it did. Maybe it was the missing break between shooting the first and the second film of the Harry Potter series that made Chris Columbus and his crew lose most about what was so great about Philosopher's Stone and replace with silly physical humour and sloppy screen writing. What has to be said out of fairness as well is that the novel it is based on is as well the weakest in the series, with the introduction of the three most annoying characters in the Harry Potter universe: Dobby, Colin Creevey and Gilderoy Lockhart. Miraculously, as the cast chiefly stayed the same, all the actors gave a worse performance in Chamber of Secrets, most of all the child actors that now simply must have felt overstrained. Additionally, the CGI was lousy and everything entertaining about it has been there in Philosopher's Stone already. Granted, I still enjoyed the cinematography, set design, and score, and Hogwarts hasn't lost its magical atmosphere in Chamber of Secrets, but the fact that this isn't a good film is defined by just one simply statement: there was not one scene in the film that I really enjoyed. And that says an awful lot about what is actually my favourite film series.