Chamber of Secrets is darker and more magical then the original was!

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2010)

The Chamber of Secrets goes to even more lengths, and more tight and sticky situations to please fans of the series, and new viewers themselves. I really thought the Tom Riddle storyline was ingenious and even quite chilling at times, they went to great lengths to keep things unpredictable to viewers who hadn't read the books before like me. I also sensed a lot of maturity into the actors this time, all of them seemed comfortable and were able to be into their roles more this time. The special effects once again blew me away, especially Aragog the spider and all the little ones, it was quite the effective scene. The movie's humor is better done then the 1st as well, any scene with Dobby whacking his head in frustration or his mischievous antics, I ended up cracking up. The twist at the end is wonderfully captivating, the only problem I had with it, and the movie itself was it was a bit too long in the tooth for my liking.
Performances. Daniel Radcliffe is much stronger this time around, even though I genuinely enjoyed his performance in The Sorcerer's Stone. He's more mature, he has more to play with, and he showed off a certain sense of charisma as well. Rupert Grint is funny once more as Ron Weasley. His weird facial quirks when he was frightened or nervous, made a lot of the movie for me. Emma Watson is sassy and witty, per usual here, she makes Hermoine lovable. Tom Felton is even more nastier as Draco then he was prior to this, you'll dislike him with a passion. Jason Isaacs is absolutely chilling as Lucuius. He was so devious, so cunning and unpredictable!. Robbie Coltrane is very charming and funny as Hagrid once more, I just wish he had more time. Kenneth Branagh is a hoot as the lying Lockhart who pretends to be a masterful Magician. Alan Rickman, Richard Harris, John Cleese and Maggie Smith all do well as the respective 4, though I do wish Rickman had more time as Snape. Shirley Henderson seems to be enjoying chewing up the scenery as Moaning Myrtle, I dug her.
Bottom line. Chamber of Secrets definitely equals Sorcerer'stone, and quite possibly surpasses it too. At around 160 minutes it's a lot to bare, but there's so much going on you won't even care|Hey that rhymed, yeah I'm weird, lol|. A Must see for Potter fans.
9/10