Much better paced than the first film, a must see!

Rating: Null/10 (15 November 2002)

No matter what anyone says about this movie, we all know it is not going to stop the hordes of Harry Potter fans from rushing out to see this film. The director of the second installment, Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone) promised more action and improved special effects in the second Harry Potter installment, and he definitely came through!

The movie starts us off at the end of Harry's horrible summer vacation with his comically terrible aunt and uncle, and leads us right into his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He has been warned, however, that he should not return by a little `house-elf' named Dobby. It turns out that someone has been terrorizing the school, and petrifying students (literally turning them into stone). In Harry's attempt to find out what's going on, he becomes the prime suspect that leads us on a very fast paced and exciting adventure for the rest of the film. Daniel Radcliffe seems much more at ease with the leading role this time around; in the first film he seemed a bit awkward. This movie was definitely better paced than the first, there was a lot more action, and some pretty scary scenes that might upset some of the younger set. I am a little surprised it got away with the `PG' rating. If you are afraid of spiders, or snakes you may not like a few of the more scary scenes in this film. The climax of this movie was much more action intensive than the first, but it still turns out the same: Harry having to fend off evil on his own after his friends have become otherwise indisposed.
The second installment was much more humorous than the first. This is thanks in part to two new characters: Dobby the computer generated elf, and Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defense against the dark arts teacher comically played by Kenneth Branagh. Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) also added to the comic relief during the more frightening scenes with his expressions of utter terror and panic that Harry never seemed to show in any situation. Be sure to stick around through the end of the credits for a brief humorous scene with Lockhart.
The cinematography and computer special effects were just as good as the first, but this time they were not stressed as much making the movie flow much better. For example, there were fewer long pans of the great hall, or of the changing stare cases. Although these elements were in the movie, they were not the focus of an entire segment like in the first film where more explanation was necessary. The flying car in the opening scenes, and the improved version of the broomstick sport Quiddditch were excellent. The faster paced game of Quidditch in this film was definitely much better than the first.
Another thing that impressed me with this movie was that I went the entire 2 hours and 40 minutes without looking at my watch! I was not able to do that in the first movie that clocked in at 2 hours and 30 minutes. If you didn't enjoy the first film, I would definitely suggest that you give this film a try because it is a real improvement.
My final notethe late Richard Harris did another superb job as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore. As the film ended and the camera backed away from the great hall, I couldn't help but feel a little sadness knowing that this would be the last time I would see Harris on the screen. Some people in the theater with me were reading the credits, looking for a dedication or memorial to the actor who passed away just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, this film was surely printed long before that, and the distributors would not have had the chance to add such a dedication. Even with out the dedication, I think his work speaks for itself. Thanks to film his legacy will live on, and we will never forget his great gift for acting.