Mr. Bond, Mr. Holmes, Lord Hornblower, Sir Robin and even Your Majesty King Arthur all you timeless British heroes of the page and screen need to take a couple of steps over and clear some room up there on your collective pedestal. This Potter kid is apparently here to stay.
In case you were just released from Azkaban Prison or otherwise have been completely cut off from human contact of late, ol' scarhead is back in HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, the second worshipfully faithful movie adapted from J.K. Rowling's Potter novels. Weighing in at an imposing two hours, 41 minutes, director Chris Columbus' follow-up to his runaway 2001 hit HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE once again plays things a little too safe to qualify as a LORD OF THE RINGS-style fantasy masterpiece, but factors such as the stronger Rowling book it's based on and the increased comfort level of the cast and crew mean countless seat-kicking Potter-philes can relax and look forward to an even better time than they had watching last year's installment.
While Rowling's series doesn't really achieve storytelling critical mass until the richer and more complex third book, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, the still very kiddie-aimed CHAMBER OF SECRETS does introduce a few of the darker elements that become so compelling later on, including the racist distinction made between "pure blood" wizards from established magical families (like Harry and Ron) and "Mudbloods," who have spellcasting aptitude but come from non-magical "Muggle" families (like Hermione). This concept, represented by the Nazi-like Malfoy family and its behind-the-scenes efforts to purify the wizarding world of race-weakening Mudblood influences, gave Rowling some much more interesting villain possibilities that her standard-issue, Sauron/Darth Vader-type Dark Lord main baddie, Voldemort. It also allowed her to pull CHAMBER OF SECRETS' various story threads together with more thematic and narrative cohesion than the episodic SORCERER'S STONE.
As Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) return for their second year of studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all this plays out in a series of mysterious attacks that leave several residents literally petrified. The attacks are linked somehow to an old legend about a hidden Chamber of Secrets somewhere within the school; it's whispered that the dreaded "Heir" of Slytherin House founder Salazar Slytherin will someday open the chamber, thereby unleashing an unthinkable terror. Of course, Harry and his pals begin their own investigation of the matter, immediately suspecting arrogant villain-in-training Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) as a likely Heir. Then factors such as Harry's inexplicable ability to speak the language of snakes (the Slytherins' trademark animal) sow suspicion that the title character himself might be evil's chosen one.
Having jumped into production on CHAMBER without so much as a chance to catch their breath after finishing SORCERER'S STONE, Columbus and his filmmaking team (including returning screenwriter Steve Kloves and production designer Stuart Craig) continue the Potter screen saga in the same polished, risk-averse style seen in the first film if the wand ain't broke, why wrap Spellotape around it, right? Happily for fans of the series, the increased confidence displayed by all involved (raking in nearly $1 billion in worldwide box-office will have that effect) means almost everything in the film has been taken a notch further, from the CGI spectacle of a wilder, faster broomstick-borne Quidditch match to the noticeably more accomplished acting chops of the young stars.
Given the Daniel Radcliffe stars once again in HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. © 2002 Warner Bros.filmmakers' fanbase-pleasing strategy to include at least an abridged version of nearly every plot point, character and creature from Rowling's 341-page book, the movie version of Year 2 is surprisingly light on its feet, and its epic running time doesn't weigh on it to the degree that SORCERER'S STONE's did. Sure, there are moments when a non-Potter-obsessed viewer longs for Columbus to bust out of the novel's constraining structure and do something just because it will make for a bolder, more powerful film, as opposed to a slavish screen transcription of Rowling's prose. (If the reader will excuse another LORD OF THE RINGS comparison, Peter Jackson's THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, an adaptation of a far greater work of fiction, wasn't so reverent of its source material that it abandoned artistic freedom of interpretation.) Still, the makers of CHAMBER are successful enough in getting to the magical essence of Rowling's saga for the film to work on its own terms.
For all its cutting-edge digital effects trickery and world-class supporting acting talent, the series' biggest asset remains Radcliffe, whose heroic screen presence perfectly captures the spirit of the title character. Harry isn't the best student at the school, and his mischievous extracurricular exploits often lead to more trouble than anything, but his instinctive bravery and loyalty to his friends make him someone we can't help but admire. Able to shift effortlessly from sympathetic Everykid mode to showing flashes of Harry's future greatness, Radcliffe is so assured and natural in the role that we suspend our disbelief and buy into the fact that no matter how many powerful wizard instructors are packed under Hogwarts' roof, it will always come down to the kid with the glasses and the lightning bolt scar saving the day.
Speaking of instructors, the kids are once again backed up by an almost embarrassingly large supply of expert adult actors led by the late Richard Harris as all-knowing Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Terrific new additions include Shakespearean actor-director Kenneth Branagh as the school's spectacularly self-obsessed new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart perhaps Rowling's most memorable supporting character to date and the always-watchable Jason Isaacs (THE TUXEDO) as Draco Malfoy's sinister, string-pulling father, Lucius.
In a testament to the book/film series' phenomenal popularity (not to mention its casting budget), CHAMBER otherwise continues the seeming effort to recruit every respected character actor in Great Britain to the Potter cause. In addition to such returning heavyweights as Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and John Cleese, CHAMBER has drafted thespians as gifted as Miriam Margolyes (THE AGE OF INNOCENCE) and Gemma Jones (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY) for throwaway parts that require no more than a line or two of dialogue. Has any film in history ever asked this many great actors to do so little? Considering how close he came to stealing the first picture, it's a particular crime not to expand on Rickman's hilarious work as the evil-leaning potions instructor Snape this time out. (Oh yeah, that's right the filmmakers aren't allowed to change anything from the books. Never mind...)
The result can't exactly be called the GODFATHER, PART II of magic school movies, but propelled by John Williams' storybook musical themes ("adapted" by Willam Ross for this installment) and an overall infectious love of Rowling's world, CHAMBER works well enough to bode good things for the franchise's future especially with a more independently minded director, Alfonso Cuarón (A LITTLE PRINCESS, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN), set to take over for Columbus on PRISONER OF AZKABAN. Now if they could only get Rowling to finish that fifth book...
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