Another victory in adaptation.

Rating: 6/10 (14 November 2005)

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to his miserable home with the Dursleys after his adventures at Hogwarts during his first year. Before returning, he is warned of great danger at Hogwarts by a house elf named Dobby. He is urged not to go, but Harry is anxious to return back to the only place in which he finds happiness.
Upon returning, Harry meets back up with his two good friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson). He finds that he is more popular than ever after his second encounter with Voldemort and happily returns to playing Quidditch. But as prophesied, fear takes control of Hogwarts as students start to become paralyzed, just as years before when the chamber of secrets was open for the first time. Harry is told about the chamber of secrets and how the true descendant of Salazar Slytherin is the only one who could open it. Harry fears that it is he, who has accidentally opened the chamber of secrets because he starts to hear voices coming from the walls and his rare gift of being able to talk to snakes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione journey to save others once again in this wonderful sequel and second chapter of the Harry Potter saga.
Like the original, The Chamber of Secrets has a playful, family oriented tone to it. I found this to be a weakness because the books were not this way. "Secrets" finds itself quite equal to its predecessor in just about every way possible. The acting, writing, and effects, all kept at par with the first. Once again, "Secrets" comes up short with the book, but did quite well for an adaptation from a book.
The thing I liked best about the movie is that the character of Harry Potter goes more in depth. He becomes more complicated than just your average kid who likes hanging out with his friends than with a family that he considers to make him miserable. He becomes much more than that. He shows us that he thinks in detail about other's actions as well as his own and finds himself making tough decisions throughout the movie. Whereas Harry changed immensely, the other characters remained quite the same, showing no complicity whatsoever. This was disappointing but understandable due to the limited amount of time given to cover a three-hundred page book. Overall, the movie was another great adaptation of the book and shows to be another nice step towards the breathtaking movies that should be soon to follow.
I recommend this film.