Harry's Magic Returns

Rating: 8/10 (9 December 2002)

The continuing saga of J.K. Rowling's young wizard returns with "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." The second installment is somewhat darker than the first, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," but still enjoyable. I found the visuals amazing, and a lot of action. Seeing a painting move from the corner of your eye is always thrilling! Since the premise and characters have already been established, we can go further into the story. I can't be certain of exactly how faithful this movie was to the book. But I did enjoy the performances of John Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart, and John Cleese's cameo as Nearly-Headless Nick. The movie left me looking forward to the third installment, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."