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MOVIES / ON DVD / HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

82%
75%
87%
N/A
N/A
N/A
82 %
Reviews Counted: 198 Fresh: 162  Rotten:36 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.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 41 mins

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 of his magical abilities, but it seems as if Harry’s best friends Ron Weasley (RUPERT GRINT) and... 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]

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Kenneth Branagh

Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Producer: David Heyman
Composer: John Williams, William Ross

DVD Info

Release:

Nov 12, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case - O-Sleeve
  • Full Frame

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, Spanish
  • Dolby Digital 2.0
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Addititonal Product:

  • Trading Card

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image
N/A

The franchise is safe! Columbus' second alchemical movie ups the thrill quotient to satisfy the faithful. There's more action, and it's scarier.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/09/06
Wally Hammond
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

Offers a more imaginatively colourful world than almost every other children's film out there.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/23/02
Alan Morrison
Empire Magazine
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Ratings Image
4/4

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.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/26/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic
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2/5

This overlong sequel is short of magic.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/16/02
Barbara Ellen
Times [UK]
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Ratings Image
3/5

Not great, but worth seeing.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/16/02
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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3.5/5

Columbus overcomes several of the first film's problems with this much darker, slightly more edgy sequel.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/14/02
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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3/5

For the time being, the Harry Potter thrill ride is whizzing along very satisfactorily indeed.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/13/02
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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Ratings Image
3/5

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.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/11/02
Adrian Hennigan
BBC
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N/A

Boy wizard and his faithful friends battle evil in a magical boarding school. You know, like last time.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/08/02
Paul Arendt
Teletext
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N/A

Gives Columbus the chance to indulge himself with fascinatingly realistic special effects and riveting action sequences.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/26/02
John Hiscock
Daily Telegraph
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Ratings Image
3.5/4

The exciting second chapter in the Harry Potter chronicle that in many ways surpasses the original.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/24/07
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy
Ratings Image
3/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
3/5

May just be the most quintessential Steven Spielberg movie Steven Spielberg never made.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Rick Kisonak
Film Threat
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4/4

This second effort is even better than the first go around.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/30/05
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs
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B

It's good enough that I might just start taking an interest in the books after all.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
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B-

Back is Chris Columbus, whose direction this time around has a purposely darker, more ominous look.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/15/04
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
Ratings Image
3/4

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.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/22/04
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
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N/A

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.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/01/04
Charlie Brown
FilmStew.com
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4/5

This is as rousing and faithful an adaptation as was possible.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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C+

It’s a depressing reality to face, but the second of J.K. Rowling’s boy-wizard books was the least interesting read... and hasn’t fared much better on film.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/07/03
David Foucher
EDGE Boston
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• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at Rotten Tomatoes
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at IGN
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at AskMen
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