Help: Series in Search of Vision

Rating: 6/10 (7 August 2007)

Harry and friends solve a new mystery, while getting better acquainted with their talents. This adventure sees them tackle another quidditch match, a flying car, giant spiders and the like.
Made at a time when the Harry Potter book series had been fully recognized for what it was - an unstoppable literary phenomenon - Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, the movie, embodies a disappointing lack of courage and compromise from its ,makers: adapt as much as you can from the increasingly long books seems to be the motto du jour. The result is a lumbering 160 minute film that manages to shy away from the darker elements of the book. As such, there is little sense of threat (the aforementioned giant spiders are underused) and the numbing length and uneven pace make this a tough film to enjoy, particularly for non-Potter fans.
It's time Columbus left. His greatest legacy will remain the casting an launching of the Potter machine. But still, other than aim at maximum faithfulness, the films have accomplished little so far, except fatten Rowling's and Warner Brothers' coffers. Now it is time for a more daring director to whip the saga into shape.