Everyone knows it sequels tend to suck. There are only two ways for filmmakers to keep a series going: the movies either all have to be equally awful in that why-am-I-actually-enjoying-this? way (like every slasher horror series ever made), or they have to be stories that stand alone yet build on each other, of course while making enormous profits (the ‘Star Wars’ series). So everyone wants to know, will the ‘Harry Potter’ series succeed?
Based on ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,’ the answer seems to be yes.
The second film starts with the early end to Harry’s miserable summer with the Dursleys, and his preparation for his second year at Hogwarts. The school year is barely underway before the students are terrorized by a monster contained in a hidden chamber thought to be legend. Of course, Harry is also a legend, so in the wizarding world, legend is not equated with fiction. Harry knows this as well as anyone else, having defeated Lord Voldemort, the most nefarious sorcerer ever, and he and his friends, Ron and Hermione, prepare to once again tackle whatever threatens Hogwarts.
The second film does stay true to J.K. Rowling’s book; unfortunately, this means it falls into some of the same problems. The book is mostly plot-driven and character development falls to the wayside. This is especially disappointing in the movie, because even less is revealed about both the returning characters and the new ones, such as Ginny Weasley, Ron’s little sister. Additionally, viewers not familiar with the characters will miss the point of scenes that hint at a crush developing, making those scenes more awkward than enlightening.
That said, the movie does develop some characters excellently. Moaning Myrtle, the adolescent ghost of one of the girls’ toilets in Hogwarts, not only steals every scene she is in, but, surprisingly, the actress playing her is Shirley Henderson (‘Trainspotting,’ ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’), who is over 30 years old. This hints at the strongest factor in the movies’ success: almost all the actors are amazing. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) and Rupert Grint (Ron) return in full force, while Emma Watson’s Hermione is sorely missed throughout much of the movie. Sadly, Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy plays well off his enemies (the main trio), but has difficulty carrying a scene involving him in the Slytherin common room with his stooges. However, Draco’s father, Lucius (Jason Isaacs), is a deliciously malevolent Fabio sneering his way through every scene, convincing the audience that he is pure evil cloaked in money. The Hogwarts teachers still embody their literary counterparts, and the addition of Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockheart, the suave, debonair oaf of a Dark Arts teacher, i perfect.
Like both the first movie and the books, some of the best parts of ‘The Chamber of Secrets’ are not the action sequences relating to the mystery, but the bits that share daily life in the wizarding world and Hogwarts. Harry travels for the first time by Floo Powder, which sends the ‘traveler’ through a chimney system wherever they want to go; like Harry, the audience stares in wonder when Ron disappears in flames. Also noteworthy is a scene in which Professor Sprout (Miriam Margoyles) teaches Slytherin and Gryffindor students how to transplant mandrakes. Another magical creature, Albus Dumbledore’s (Richard Harris) phoenix, is introduced to Harry and the audience on a ‘burning day’ and is beautiful (and adorable) to watch transform. Of course, the movie wouldn’t be complete without a Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. This match possibly outshines the one in ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,’ because Harry and archnemesis Draco Malfoy are pitted against each other as seekers for their respective teams, and tension builds throughout their battle for the snitch.
There is one particular area where the film outperforms the book, and that is in the sequence involving a diary of a young man who attended Hogwarts long before Harry’s time. Like the pictures that wave and smile at the person holding them, the diary, too, can interact with the person who has it, and the movie portrays this even better than J.K. Rowling’s words. Fans of the book will be truly amazed at how well this difficult and integral part of the story is done.
The many rabid fans of Harry Potter, whether introduced through the books or the first movie, will be satisfied with ‘The Chamber of Secrets,’ but is unlikely that it will entice those not already entranced. The film is geared to those who already know the characters intimately and just want a visual reproduction of the second book, or to learn more about characters they met through the first movie. Like the book, this film more of a bridge to the drama that unfolds in the subsequent books, and it succeeds in maintaining interest for the next one while introducing the characters that will become more important as time goes by. This Harry kid’s got staying power, and that’s a good thing.
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