Superb!

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2007)

J K Rowling has a unique talent. She takes the basic structure of a boarding school story and works in elements of classical mythology, Arthurian legend and many other things. Because she taps into so many diverse sources that is one reason the books have sold tremendously well (that's an understatement) and they have been made into films which star the cream of the acting profession. It's not often you get a film which draws on old legends which also includes steam trains and Ford Anglias. Harry Potter has forever altered the way people look at a Ford Anglia. This film, though, is a bit more scary than the first one (in fact the films have got progressively scarier) and the scenes with the basilisk may be a bit too much for small children. I am also a bit arachnophobic (like Ron Weasley) and the scene with the spiders made my flesh creep. But this is still a great film. Although it's a fantasy film, children can still relate to it. When he's not at Hogwarts, Harry lives in a street of Brookside houses, namely Privet Drive. Kids can relate to this setting as it is one many of them will identify with. Many of the children's stories of yore like Peter Pan and the Phoenix and the Carpet had their real world sections in upper class Victorian or Edwardian nurseries, which is just as much a fantasy world for modern kids as Neverland or Narnia. This aspect has also contributed to the success of the Harry Potter books and films.