The Secret of Numb

Rating: 5/10 (3 March 2013)

My headline is a little misleading, The Secret of Numb, for I actually enjoyed Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. For, it's a tremendous improvement over the kiddie movie the original was and on its own, it was adventurous and a tad bit more for the YOUNG adult set.
And what a difference a year makes: the sets were more elaborate, the special effects thoroughly improved – namely the flying segments during the Quidditch match and they even toned down the five endings from the original to three. Albeit, they were rather long conclusions – I even checked the time when the first of three ended and realized there was still 25 minutes left. I sighed.
So, we're still heading into pacing problems and an editor who never read his own job description. And yes, I know we're dealing with writers who want to appease the book club fans and jam every last plot twist, every single character of thousands into more than two and a half hours. Trust me, it's unnecessary.
If you want everything from a book, there's an easy solution. READ IT. After reading the fantastic The Stand by Stephen King, I can understand a theatrical release of about two hours simply couldn't put it all in and I'm okay with that. A screenplay writer must read the source material and determine the most important areas to keep and dismiss, regardless of what the audience wants.
I digress Even though this movie was, unfortunately, even longer than it's predecessor, it was a lot more fun. And contained a jaw-dropping scary and wonderful spider-attack scene. I'm a sucker for When Animals Attack films and the ones that scare me the most are the ones involving my real-life fears: spiders.
But, for the target audience, or at least what the first one seemed to be aiming at, this had to go over their heads a bit. I'd love to count the plot twists and points and the multitude of unusual names and characters because they had to hit close to a hundred. Now, that said, the end all but had our heroes turn 4-D and explain everything in simple English to the viewers.
After yet another long stretch of getting Harry back to wizard school following summer vacation, he mercifully uncovers the film's mystery fairly soon after (unlike the original's almost two hours to get to the point.) Even though it's been almost a decade since original release, I won't spoil it, but suffice to say, Harry & the Gang use their individual detective skills along with some sorcery to find out why the Hogwart's residents are being terrorized and/or frozen.
When I saw this, again, almost a decade ago – the only time I've seen it, my first impression was of disgust. "It's a shot-by-shot remake!" I exclaimed to my partner at the time and I vowed never to see another Harry Potter film again. (I will, however, be breaking this rule later today with #3 in my venture down HP Lane)
Today, I say: Eh, it did have a lot of the same elements and almost the same ending(s), but it certainly evolved as I hear the rest of the series does as well. If someone were to ask me where to start with Harry Potter and they've never seen any of them, I would – right now – say this one. There's zero reason to begin with #1 when this gives you all you need to know about the cast and settings rather abruptly and efficiently.
It's not perfect and it's not a movie I will rush to any time soon, but thinking of it as a stand-alone young adult ticket, it's recommended.
(Editor's Note: I decided to listen to the masses for this Harry POTter phenomena and revisit the series. I've only seen the first two, both once and in first run theatres. Since it's been around a decade since the initial releases, I've started over with #1 and will get to what everyone calls: the better years. Cheerio!)