Potter Perfection.

Rating: 10/10 (9 November 2014)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is n absolutely fantastic movie in every facet. The main movie is very faithful to the book and the extended version is extremely faithful to the book. The main movie covers everything of importance to the plot in pretty much the same order as the book and the extended versions keeps even more elements, some of which improve how well the extended version captures the emotional depth of Harry's story. Daniel and Emma have shaken off their noviceness and show great acting improvement in their portrayals of the main roles as compared to Sorcerer's Stone. Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltraine are still fantastic as Snape and Hagrid. Sadly, this is our last of Richard Harris as Dumbledore as he died before this film was even released. Harris was clearly the better Dumbledore and captured the wisdom and grandfatherly mentor of the Dumbledore from the books so well. Then the new cast members are fantastic. In particular, Jason Issacs was PERFECT in the role of Lucius and brought out the ruthlessness and self supposed superiority. The pacing is good. While there are some "slow" parts, this is a story that some parts need to be slow in. This movie does a fantastic job of being slow in parts in which the story calls for it, such as when Professor McGonagall is explaining the legend of the Chamber of secrets to the class, and faster paced in parts that call for it, such as the Flying Car scene. The special effects/visuals are massively improved over Sorcerer's Stone. This is particularly obvious in creatures. As opposed to the cartoonish Fluffy and comical troll seen in SS, Aragog is truly scary, Fawkes is truly awe striking, and Dobby feels like a real character. And the set of the Chamber of Secrets itself is much more well done than the chess set and dungeons seen at the climax of SS. Another major plus is that this story, both book and movie, though it retains a strong child appeal element with things like Howlers and Flying Cars it is far less childish than SS and has more emotional depth. The story of people like Hermione, who are looked down upon because of their parentage/background adds more of an emotional twist to the story, as does the danger they face. This leads to another point: There is real danger and real tension in this movie. The tension between Harry Potter and Tom Riddle is palpable and becomes even more palpable when Tom reveals that he is Lord Voldemort. And whereas in SS it really felt all along as though everything would be okay and Harry would triumph, in COS there is a real feeling of danger and a real feeling of doubt as to whether Harry will be able to save Ginny, whether Harry will defeat Tom Riddle, and even whether Harry will survive the adventure in the Chamber of Secrets. A final point is that John Williams fantastic music. The awesomeness of this speaks for itself. I really enjoyed the piece on the DVD where they showed the scene of Hermione's return with the music removed. The scene feels far less fulfilling without music and it was interesting to hear Williams himself talk about this. This movie should not be viewed by preschoolers or kindergarteners because of emotional intensity (Hermione's petrification, the message on the wall about Ginny.) as well scary moments, such as the Aragog scene and the battle in the Chamber of Secrets itself. This movie is perfectly fine for kids in 3rd grade and older. For kids in grades 1-2 in depends on the individual. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an outstanding movie that earns its 10 out of 10. Make sure to see the extended version at least a few times.