Lots of flash, loads of cash but it's lacking something

Rating: 6/10 (18 November 2002)

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" brings our favorite wizards-in-training back to Hogwarts Academy and places them in plenty of peril.
The actors are fine, the dialog is acceptable and the effects are certainly worth the considerable amount of money spent on them. But we don't really connect with Harry and his friends in this picture. They have one adventure after another, but it's all very much like a 2-1/2 hour roller coaster ride. After it was over my reaction was "So?"
Director Chris Columbus and screenplay scribe Steven Kloves should have spent more time on emotion and less on thrills, put more effort into character development and less into effects.
Yes, I know this is a movie for kids and I don't expect deep philosophy, but J.K. Rowling's books are well-written and enjoyable and deserve better than this. I hope future Potter films are more engaging.