THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Warner Bros. hit the jackpot when adapting JK Rowling's Harry Potter book series into a successful live action film franchise. When the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone became the first to set the groundwork of what to expect, moviegoers and fans accepted we would see every chapter from top to bottom with the follow up, the Chamber of Secrets.
PLOT
The 2002 sequel follows the titular young wizard reaching the end of his summer with the Dursleys. When a house elf named named Dobby warns him danger is coming for Hogwarts, he sabotages a dinner to prevent him from going back. This decision leads to Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) locking him in his bedroom to further prevent him from leaving. Thankfully, Harry is broken out by his best friend Ronald Weasley and his older twin brothers Fred & George (James & Oliver Phelps). Days later and after getting new supplies at Diagon Alley, Harry and Ron would miss the barrier that would take them to the train to Hogwarts. This leads to them using a semi-sentient car that belongs to the latter’s father Arthur. They do make it to school, only after crashing into the violent tree known as the ‘Whomping Willow’. Due to how their usage of the car led to them being spotted by multiple muggles (humans), they are given detention by Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), rather than be expelled as insisted by Professor Severus Snape. As the semester progresses, Harry would find the cat of caretaker Argus Filch (David Bradley) not dead but petrified. There would also be a message written in blood on the wall which frightens everyone, saying “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware”. The following day, student Hermione Granger would ask McGonagall ask what is the chamber. The teacher would explain that centuries ago, Hogwarts’ co-founder Salazar Slytherin would create this said chamber and contain an unseen monster, planning to use it with the intent of killing Muggle-born students. Theorizing that the heir could be Slytherin bully Draco Malfoy, Hermione orchestrates to create a poly juice potion to infiltrate House Slytherin’s common room with the hopes to confirm suspicion. Due to the process of making such a potion, she along with Harry & Rob must wait a month until they can go forward. During a game of Quidditch, Harry would get injured by a rogue bludger. As he recovers in the infirmary, he meets Dobby again who confesses of tampering with the same ball, as well as blocking the train station barrier. Potter would also overhear the confirmation of the chamber being re-opened when another student named Colin Creevey (Hugh Mitchell) is found petrified. The day after this, Harry would also take part of a self defense lesson during Defense Against the Dark Arts, taught by famed wizard author Gilderoy Lockhart. When he spars with Draco, the latter summons a snake. He would prevent the reptile from attacking another student Justin Finch-Fletchley (Edward Randell) by speaking to it before Snape destroys it. This frightens everyone as he unknowingly spoke Parsel tongue, a rare language Salazar once spoke, which makes them all think he is the heir. When he later finds Justin and Sir Nearly Headless Nick (John Cleese) petrified as well, while also hearing voices within the walls and noticing a trail of spiders. When confronted by Dumbledore of recent incidents, the headmaster assures him he believes he is innocent. During winter break, Hermione is able to complete the polyjuice potion, giving Harry & Ron a limited time to be disguised by Draco’s classmates Vincent Crabbe (Jamie Waylett) and Gregory Goyle (Josh Herdman). Within their brief amount of time, Draco makes clear he is not the heir but shares of how a girl died in the hands of the monster when the chamber opened years prior. After getting another clue, the two also find the girls’ bathroom flooded, but also find an enchanted diary that once belonged an older student named Tom Marvolo Riddle. When Harry writes on it, he is able to communicate with the memory of the former student, who shows him what exactly happened when the chamber last opened: Surprisingly, gatekeeper Rubeus Hagrid was found responsible due to having a pet spider on campus. When he shares this with his friends the next morning, the diary would be missing after his bedroom would be found ransacked. Tragedy would only continue when Hermione is found petrified as well. That following night, Harry & Ron decide to question Hagrid of what happened when the chamber last opened. That doesn't get to happen when Dumbledore and Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) alert him that he is being sent to Azkaban Prison, after being accused of opening the chamber. Draco Malfoy's father Lucius would also appear to inform Albus of being suspended as headmaster. When all adults leave, Hagrid leaves the hint for Harry & Ron to 'follow the spiders'. The boys do follow the trail of spiders into the Dark Forest. There, they find the giant spider that was accused of being the chamber's monster, Aragog (Julian Glover). He confirms that Hagrid never opened the chamber because the original monster was born into the chamber years before Hagrid originally adopted him. Aragog would refuse to speak the name of the true monster due to all spiders fearing it. Harry & Ron would leave the forest defensively when Aragog allows his children to attempt to feast on them. The next morning, Harry would find a ripped book page in Hermione's petrified hand that would confirm the monster's identity: The monster is a serpent called a 'Basilisk' that kills people who make direct eye contact with it. Everyone has been petrifed because of indirect contact. As Harry & Ron realize this, they overhear that the latter's young sister Ginny has been taken into the chamber and another blood written message has been found on the wall "Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever". Both warn Lockhart of what's going on, but he chooses to retreat due to actually being a fraud. So, they take him with them to the chamber. Thanks to the direction of the ghost of 'Moaning' Myrtle Warren, they find the entrance to be in the bathroom she haunts. After getting through the first entrance, Lockhart tries to use a memory charm on the boys to retreat. But due to using Ron's broken wand, it backfires and wipes out his own memory while also causing a cave-in that separates Harry from Ron. On his own from the other side, Potter would take the final entry into the Chamber and find Ginny unconscious. He then finds Tom Riddle as well who explains to be only the memory of the former student. He takes Potter's wand from him and reveals Ginny opened the chamber and wrote the messages after he told her to do so when communicating with her through the diary, which tranced her. After this, he admits to frame Hagrid and reveal to be the younger embodiment of Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard that tried to kill Potter when he was a baby. Despite being in shock, Harry stays firm to being loyal to Dumbledore who was suspicious of Riddle's actions. His firm loyalty would summon the wizard's phoenix Fawkes who would arrive with the Sorting Hat. Believing Potter is weaponless, Voldemort would summon the Basilisk. Thankfully, the young wizard would still have formidable help when Fawkes is able to blind the serpent. And when evading the monster, the Sorting Hat would produce the ancient weapon, the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry would use it to slay it once and for all. Despite being poisoned by one of its fangs, he is able to use one to destroy the diary which destroys the memory of Riddle. Once he does that, Ginny is revived and Fawkes heals him with his tears before returning everyone to the surface. Once Harry & Ron return to campus and share the truth, Dumbledore would be reinstated and offer the boys special awards for their services. As Ron delivers a letter to free Hagrid from Azkaban, the headmaster would share with Potter that the reason he is able to speak parcel tongue could be because Voldemort inadvertently transferred his powers to him when trying to kill him. After this conversation, Dobby would appear with his master that happens to be Lucius the whole time. Malfoy would only appear to express his disappointment of Dumbledore's reinstatement. However, the headmaster would call him out for threatening the governors if they didn't vote his suspension. Potter would trick Malfoy to free Dobby by planting his sock in Riddle's diary he gives him, as it is a rule for masters to give house elves clothing. When he realizes he was tricked of losing a servant, he tries to kill him only to be stopped by the newly free elf. As the likes of Sir Nicholas, Colin, Justin and Hermione would be un-petrified thanks to the use of the healing potion 'Mandrake Restorative Draught', the film would end with Dumbledore cancelling final exams and everyone celebrating the return of Hagrid.
THOUGHTS
Due to how kids in the 21st century were hooked with the idea of magic, it was pretty hand in hand to sit back and relax to this franchise, including New Line Cinema's Lord of the Rings. Expectations were high after the success of the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone and it wasn't really a surprise when saying this didn't disappoint either. For the second and last time, Director Chris Columbus pulls us in and leaves us fascinated with another thought provoking adventure in this fantasy world. You get the hype going when hearing John Williams' score, and you're once again feeling part of it all when being mesmerized of each set piece and costume to make everyone distinguishable. The combo of practical and visual effects are an absolute win here because the creatures like the Basilisk and the enormous spiders are scene stealing figures to behold. And on the other hand, you still want to play Quidditch if you're not dealing with pixies. I've preferred this entry to be my favorite of the bunch because of its bold message of self identity. When you grow up, your decisions can be easy to be compared to others but that does not mean you are meant to be like others because you and only you are capable of doing what you want. And when you do what you want, you're capable of making your own path. Daniel Radcliffe expresses just that in the titular role we admire. Harry is put through a whole other ringer because people think he is meant to be something he's not, a villain. And despite the obstacles and all the negativity that came his way again, he still kept his morals intact to keep doing the right thing. In this case, it was saving his friends and halting the evil that was lurking his true home. We truly look up to him here when he's able to kill a basilisk all on his own. If he can do that, that gives us the inspiration to do anything. Lucky for him, he still had friends worth fighting for. Rupert Grint arguably gave my favorite outing of Ron. Apart from relating to having arachnophobia, he always proved to be a caring friend no matter what the occasion. He does his best in standing by their side and sharing whatever can help them figure out the truth. And when Hermione was briefly absent, he put his brain to good use and put more thought to what can be true. And while he doesn't know it yet, the more journeys he embarks with Harry, the braver he becomes. I think he proves that when driving without permission and knocking out Lockhart without a second thought. Although Hermione was briefly out of commission, Emma Watson still shined in her given time. The big difference here for her was how despite being the smartest does not mean you can't make mistakes. Surprisingly, she had a handful here. You could feel bad of how she wasn't cautious when encountering the Basilisk but at the same time, you can't help yourself chuckling when unintentionally taking the disguise of a cat. Even when petrified, she was still the helping hand Harry needed and without her, Hogwarts would've been doomed. For the last time, the late Richard Harris had us appreciate Dumbledore not just for the wisdom, but for his extra dose of sympathy towards his students apart from Harry. With danger looming at every second, he tries to sustain the danger by keeping it under wraps before it's too late. He never interferes with Harry's investigation because he knew deep down he'd have a better chance of figuring out the problem, becoming a gamble worth taking. If you don't think he is a great headmaster, then cancelling final exams will convince you because that was so awesome to witness to the point where I again wish I was attending Hogwarts. I even favor this entry to be my favorite outing of Hagrid because Robbie Coltrane showed him to be just as softhearted as his friendly headmaster. You easily feel bad for the guy because his love for creatures put him in a very bad spot. But I think that sympathy he has for them all has us realize some things are bigger than what they seem. Apart from the basilisk, he has never been scared from the likes of spiders or dragons. That alone proves we don't have to be afraid of everything we don't understand. I think when looking at that point of view, everyone in Hogwarts love Hagrid as much as we do because he is teaching us to be diverse. The end of the film when all applaud for his release is deeply satisfying because everyone knows Hogwarts would lose its heart if he wasn't around. Moving on, Alan Rickman gives us an impressive take on the deceptive Snape. He shows that he is emotionally distant of a professor, but does not mean he has zero good intentions, as he chooses to be protective whenever possible. The best example is when he kills the snake in class. What we learn from him here is that when you take action, do not let the enemy think you have the advantage. Apart from Hagrid, this world is so big you can't say there is only one lovable character. The argument exists because of the likes of Dobby. You can pick on the elf when he he looks like Gollum's half brother, but putting the joke aside, you feel bad for him too because Toby Jones makes clear he is someone who is put with the wrong set of guidance. He is stuck with people who lead by fear and he makes the decision to hurt himself to stay in line, which is more tragic than it is ridiculous to see. If he's being abused by wizards, that just shows how imperfect the wizarding world is. Thankfully, his abuse was actually able to reach an end when Harry takes the risk to save him and in return, Dobby saves him back. With Ron being so integral to Harry's life and his brothers doing their own thing, it would be easy to assume no other Weasley would affect Harry's life until he met Ginny. Bonnie Wright steals our hearts as well for portraying her at this point in her life as one who is also feeling misguided. That feeling comes from unspoken feelings she's sparking over Harry, including feeling like an outcast in her family. She wanted solace and ended up going to the wrong entity for it. While this didn't spark anything for Harry yet, it did remind her that there will always be people that care about her. As if there weren't enough tragic characters in a single story, Moaning Myrtle takes the cake. It is so uncomfortable to watch her, which is the whole point because Shirley Henderson shows how troubled and isolated she was at her time, which sadly stuck with her in the afterlife. Considering no one respected her, it almost seemed like she was bound to have a demise no one would care for. So every time she sadly moans, you just feel bad on how stuck she is and has no chance of moving on. Of all the characters that made me laugh more than I should have, it's going to be Lockhart by a default. Kenneth Branagh was undoubtably hilarious the whole time for being an insecure idiot thinking he'd last long in a world he doesn't really belong in. It's clear we shouldn't like him due to how attached he is to the spotlight, which makes his downfall all the more humorous. Of course we don't like Draco since Tom Felton expertly plays him as a big time brat, but then we slowly go easy on him when noticing it runs in the family. Jason Isaacs definitely made an impact for making Lucius double down on being vain and cruel as his son would replicate. We knew it as he taunts the Weasleys and we're reminded of it when he bullies Dobby. For the latter, it becomes ironic to see him overpowered by someone half his size. This wasn't the end of him, but it was still another satisfying moment to digest. Many villains are hard to get rid of and Voldemort is one of those prime examples because he always found a way to stick around when we weren't noticing. In his given screen time, Christian Coulson assures he is the main threat to worry about because even if he is a living memory, he is still strong enough to take action to his liking. Ironically, he is someone who showed there is more than meets the eye since he fooled everyone in his generation. It would backfire in the end because due to being just a memory, he was nowhere near prepared for Harry's will. And for that, another part of him vanished. While there was still more of him to deal with, this was another step forward for the war to conclude against darkness. My nostalgic love for it will always remain intact but after countless viewings, I've grown to it there are many moments that have bothered me for a long time. Like for instance, it's one hell of an opening for Dobby to get Harry in trouble, but how come no one heard them come down the stairs when they heard the ruckus upstairs? It's like they're choosing what to hear and it's weird. I even find it odd for Ron to not bring up where his dad Arthur (Mark Williams) works at the Ministry of Magic as Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. They've been talking to each other for a year at this point, so it's weird that he never said anything until this point. That's crazier than Arthur not knowing what Harry looks like until he meets him. And why was Ron still allowed to keep a broken wand? I'm sure he's not the first one to deal with this, but it was shown to be very dangerous to have around so he should've gotten a lend-me-down for the semester. We know it's a payoff for Lockhart to be a fraud and a dumbass, but why would he risk being a teacher at Hogwarts? If he somehow had no idea that Harry fought Voldemort over the Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone, then he's only proving he's the latter. I'm even surprised Dumbledore allowed him to make a quiz of himself when there's obviously a curriculum to follow. If he pulled this out at the last minute, he's nuts to think students wouldn't tell Dumbledore o any other teacher. Hagrid was smart to tell Harry to follow the spiders because Aragog would tell the truth he was framed, but why couldn't he leave a riddle to be cautious of what he and Ron would deal with? He knows damn well how dangerous the spiders are, so it's nuts for him to be more clear with the hint. And ain't it a little weird how not a single teacher or doctor noticed the paper in her hand? I know we want Harry to save the day, but it's odd no one like McGnnagall noticed after Dumbledore tried to figure out the monster's identity when looking at the camera. And how did Fawkes get into the chamber when the door closed after Harry went through? You can't say it knows parcel tongue because the bird will just squawk as it does when blinding the Basilisk. And what did reason did Lucius need to bring Dobby to campus other than for us to get the whammy on who was the elf's master the whole time. I know this gives Harry the chance to free him, but it's a weird way to get it done. Also, was Lucius going to summon the death curse on Harry right outside Dumbledore's office? I'm sure he'd be doing Voldemort a favor, but that is dumber than Lockhart trying to use a broken wand. And on top of that, how did Dumbledore not find any security to watch over the halls? They could've caught the Basilisk in action if someone was at every other hall keeping their eyes open. Other than that, this movie is still a blast. In short, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an amazing follow-up for an impressive new pace that suits the tone the franchise is transitioning to, while expanding upon incredible lore cautiously and beautifully. If you enjoyed the first one, it wouldn't be a surprise if you liked this too.
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