Chamber of Secrets should disappoint only the purists

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2002)

The Harry Potter movie franchise, in my opinion, still remains dedicatedly true to the vision of the books. There were omissions and a few plot points felt a bit rushed, but as the books get larger and larger, it will be all but impossible to retain every detail of the original. That said, I think the second installment of Harry Potter was just as fun as the first.
Although I am irritated by Kenneth Branaugh as an actor in serious movies, he always does a fantastic job in films that require over-the-top acting, like Much Ado About Nothing, and this movie was no exception. He was hilarious as the pretty boy of wizardry, and it was almost impossible for me not to chuckle whenever he appeared onscreen. He was a brilliant choice!
Like many have said, the movie is darker than the first, and it's only going to get darker: books 3 and 4 get scarier and closer to death than the first two ever did. It's not a fault of the movie that it was darker, but the ending was an odd contrast to the lighthearted beginning, and to be honest, I enjoyed the first half of the movie a bit more because of its innocence (not to mention the clumsy owl!).
The movie didn't seem to focus much on the characters as much as the first, but that's because it expected its audience to have seen the first; not to mention the fact that it just didn't have the time to develop them. I missed the snapshots of daily school life that are often provided in loving detail in the book.
The quidditch scenes were really cool this time around! The transitions between the CGI and the real actors were much better this time around, and I can't remember a single scene from it that was blatantly computer-generated. The animatronic phoenix was a bit cheezy, though.
All in all, I think the second Harry Potter is just as good as the first. Unless you're fastidiously zealous about the details, you're 99% guaranteed to like this one if you liked the book.