Very good but exhausting

Rating: 8/10 (2 December 2002)

Who would have thought it? Director Chris Columbus has actually made a very good film!
This film follows Harry Potter in his second year at Hogwarts with a much darker tone than the first film. However, the film should be dark--the books are. This film is much better than the first. The first had to spend a lot of time introducing Harry, his friends and Hogwarts. This film assumes you know all about it and kicks right in. It moves quickly and has better (and more) special effects. Little time is spent on characters and motivations--whether that's good or bad depends on what you like.
The acting has improved. Daniel Radcliffes (Harry Potter) voice has noticably deepened and his acting has improved (a little). Emma Watson (Hermione) has blossomed into a very pretty young girl and gives a very good performance. Rupert Grint (Ron) is just OK--he's got to stop being so bug-eyed over everything. Also Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and the (sadly) late Richard Harris offer strong support. The only bad piece of casting was Kenneth Branaugh as a new teacher. He's supposed to be funny yet sinister--he's neither--just boring and silly.
The film is NOT for small children. As I said before, it's dark and has some very scary moments (all of them involving giant, hungry spiders and vicious, huge snakes). Also there's some fairly bloody violence (for a PG-13).
The main problem is the films length--2 hours, 41 minutes. It's long and there's a lot of action and story covered. I was exhausted by the end of the movie (in a good way).
So, it's a great roller coaster ride for older children and adults.