The franchise is safe! Columbus' second alchemical movie ups the thrill quotient to satisfy the faithful. There's more action, and it's scarier.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
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Reviews Counted:198
Fresh:163
Rotten:35
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Darker and livelier than the first Harry Potter, but much of what's wrong with the first movie is also present here.
Runtime: 5 hrs 35 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: Harry Potter (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) has not had a good summer. Not only has he had to put up with his overbearing Aunt Petunia (FIONA SHAW) and Uncle Vernon Dursley (RICHARD GRIFFITHS) and their dread... Harry Potter (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) has not had a good summer. Not only has he had to put up with his overbearing Aunt Petunia (FIONA SHAW) and Uncle Vernon Dursley (RICHARD GRIFFITHS) and their dread of his magical abilities, but it seems as if Harry’s best friends Ron Weasley (RUPERT GRINT) and Hermione Granger (EMMA WATSON) have forgotten him – as they haven’t replied to a single one of his letters. Then, suddenly and mysteriously, house-elf Dobby appears in Harry’s bedroom and warns of great danger if the aspiring wizard should attempt to return to Hogwarts. Dobby is so keen to prevent the young Gryffindor from returning to the school for witches and wizards, he has blocked all of Ron and Hermione’s correspondence from reaching Harry. But despite the elf’s mischievous efforts, the ever-determined Harry is rescued from the Dursleys’ dreary clutches by Ron and his brothers – with the aid of a flying car! – and welcomed into the warmth of the Weasley household. But when Harry and Ron are suspiciously prevented from entering Platform 9 and boarding the Hogwarts Express back to school, the boys take emergency action to avoid being late for the new term – only to incur the wrath of Professor Snape (ALAN RICKMAN), who calls for their expulsion. Meanwhile, news of Harry’s first year heroism has spread throughout Hogwarts and he finds himself the center of much unwanted attention. His new fans include Ron’s little sister Ginny (BONNIE WRIGHT); first year would-be photographer Colin Creevey (HUGH MITCHELL); and most irritatingly, the new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Gilderoy Lockhart (KENNETH BRANAGH). Outshone only by his own vanity, Lockhart craves the attention that Harry shuns and is only too keen to associate himself with Hogwarts’ young hero. But not even Lockhart can offer an explanation or solution to the slippery and sinister new terror that is gripping the school. Now all eyes are on Harry, and his so-called friends are beginning to doubt him. Everyone, that is, except Ron and Hermione and fragile young Ginny, who has shifted her focus to her mysterious new diary. But Harry is not about to let his friends down and, with or without the support of Gilderoy Lockhart, he will confront the dark force lurking in his beloved school. -- © 2002 Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs
Director: Chris Columbus
Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Producer: David Heyman
Composer: John Williams, William Ross
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Offers a more imaginatively colourful world than almost every other children's film out there.
I stopped thinking about how good it all was, and started doing nothing but reacting to it - feeling a part of its grand locations, thinking urgently as the protagonists struggled, feeling at the mercy of its inventiveness, gasping at its visual delights.
Columbus overcomes several of the first film's problems with this much darker, slightly more edgy sequel.
For the time being, the Harry Potter thrill ride is whizzing along very satisfactorily indeed.
The special effects here will have you reclining in your seat, admiring the spectacle. Unfortunately, the film's pedestrian pacing won't get you on the edge of it.
Boy wizard and his faithful friends battle evil in a magical boarding school. You know, like last time.
Gives Columbus the chance to indulge himself with fascinatingly realistic special effects and riveting action sequences.
Everything about The Sorcerer's Stone pretty much applies to the adaptation of the second novel in the series.
Allow yourself the luxury of discovering this enchanted world for yourself.
The exciting second chapter in the Harry Potter chronicle that in many ways surpasses the original.
Though these films are trifles, they are at least high quality trifles.
May just be the most quintessential Steven Spielberg movie Steven Spielberg never made.
It's good enough that I might just start taking an interest in the books after all.
Back is Chris Columbus, whose direction this time around has a purposely darker, more ominous look.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, satisfies as a film adaptation, but it doesn't cast as enchanting a spell as the first movie.
The second film to spring forth from J.K. Rowling’s popular series of children’s books goes a long way towards amping up the dramatic tension promised by the source material.
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