Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

***Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*** is a 2002 fantasy movie based on J.K. Rowling's 1998 novel of the same name, it is the 2nd installment in the long running Harry Potter movie series, the movie was directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

## Plot

As Harry enters his second year at Hogwarts, he discovers an elf that tries to prevent him from going back, believing that there's great danger there.

## Why The Secret Is Opening

1. Just like the previous film, it is extremely faithful to the original book.
2. Good direction by Chris Columbus.
3. The film is noticeably darker than the first with the idea of a giant snake that's able to petrify people just by looking at it and the fact that it can kill you by looking into its eyes and a child being possessed to write threatening messages on the walls in blood being pretty terrifying for a PG film.
4. Great action sequences especially the fight between Harry and the Basilisk.
5. We get to know more about Lord Voldemort's past and how he was a student at Hogwarts who is responsible for Hagrid being expelled, how he is the heir of Salazar Slytherin, and the fact that his name used to be Tom Riddle.
6. A good plot twist at the end of the movie where it's revealed that Tom Riddle (Voldemort) was behind everything as he used his diary to manipulate Ginny into writing messages on the walls and petrifying students.
7. Great acting especially Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart as he manages to bring the character's arrogance and wimpiness to life.
8. Tons of unforgettable moments such as Harry and Ron with the flying car.
9. Fawkes the phoenix is an interesting and awesome character who helps Harry fight the Basilisk.
10. The Basilisk himself is a terrifying villain.
11. Great soundtrack although most of it is recycled.
12. Great special effects at the time with some holding up pretty well in some cases.
13. There are some nice heartwarming scenes like when Dobby stands up against his abusive master after he's finally freed thanks to Harry and seeing Hagrid return after being sent to Azkaban and given a round of applause for his return.

## Bad Qualities

1. **Plot Hole**: How is it that the Basilisks are able to use the pipes in the castle to move around especially given its ginormous size? It's also pretty absurd that not one person ever saw a creature that size lurking in a castle with hundreds of people in it. Although, this is mainly a fault of the book itself.
2. The film doesn't explain why Nearly-Headless Nick was seemingly dead as it leaves out the part where he explains that this is because he was celebrating his death day. He goes back to normal at the end of the film and the way the film is structured made it seem like he was petrified even though he's a ghost.
3. The film further brings Ron's character down by making him wimpier in this film due to him constantly standing around in fear of being in the Forbidden Forest.
4. Most of the music is carried over from the first movie, due to John Williams's intense workload (four films in 2002 were scored by Williams, who took a much-needed year off afterward; *Azkaban* was his first movie coming off hiatus).
5. The CGI hasn't aged well.
6. When characters are petrified they don't appear to turn to stone, their bodies remain colored and like themselves which makes it resemble catatonia more than petrification.

## Reception

The movie received critical acclaim with many praising the plot, the cast, the soundtrack and for being a faithful adaptation to the book. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 238 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though perhaps more enchanting for younger audiences, *Chamber of Secrets* is nevertheless both darker and livelier than its predecessor, expanding and improving upon the first film's universe." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+", the only film in the *Harry Potter* series to receive such grade.

Roger Ebert gave *The Chamber of Secrets* 4 out of 4 stars, especially praising the set design.