It Starts, It Ends, and In Between Magic Happens

Rating: 9/10 (15 November 2002)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is more than a continuation on a familiar theme, its an improvement and a redefinition of that theme. Like the Wizard of Oz's follow ups, I was worried this one could not live up to its magnificent predecessor. Luckily, I erred. This film is truly great. It has all the fun of the first and more. The story has Harry returning to Hogwarts, older, smarter, and edgier, and thus the film is darker and more gritty, as Harry faces the fact that he might yet have no small amount of darkness in him. Though this is lamentably Harris' last film, his Dumbledore is remarkable and is one of his finer works (and that is no small task in and of itself). Though it is not without flaws (Where did Branagh go? Rickman as Snape occurred all too little in this one, though his screen time was remarkably well spent). This film is fun, smart, and actually heartening... Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid and a well placed phoenix truly touched the audience I saw this film with. It looks like the Potter franchise is here to stay... and that looks to be a good thing.