Like all the books, "Chamber" begins midway through the summer as Harry's twelfth birthday is nearing, and again he faces a rather dismal one in the company of his horrible uncle, aunt and cousin. Excitement is already on the move however, as when Harry enters his bedroom the house elf Dobby is waiting for him, who warns him that under no circumstances is he to return to Hogwarts, where a great danger is waiting for him.

But return he does, after being rescued from his family by the Weasley family and the now-famous flying blue Ford Angelia, and indeed finds what Dobby promised - something is stalking the halls of Hogwarts, putting all the students in great danger. Taking it upon himself to save his beloved home Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione seek out the clues, and find themselves facing a terrible evil. In a story filled with giant spiders, savage willow trees, magical swords, disembodied voices, mysterious diaries, glorious phoenixes, flying cars and Quidditch matches, the action and excitement doesn't let up until the ending credits.

Once again Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson return as the three main protagonists, and I'm glad to say that while their acting was a little awkward in the first movie (understandable for newcomers) they've mellowed out and are much more natural with their characters and each other. Under-rated actor Tom Felton is again wickedly good, and Maggie Smith (McGonagall), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and Alan Rickman (Snape) roll out brilliant performances. Unfortunatly I can't say the same for Richard Harris - Dumbledore in my mind is an elderly yet lively and energetic man, yet here I was petrified he was going to kneel over any second.

The best part of any sequel in a series is the myraid of new characters to see, including the afore mentioned Dobby, the mysterious and sinister Tom Riddle, the narcissic Gilderoy Lockhart (played with great pizzazz by Kenneth Branaugh), and pompous Cornelius Fudge, and more of the Weasley family - more from Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, an introduction to Arthur Weasley, and from George, Fred and (especially) Ginny.

Three performances stick out though: Lucius Malfoy was great - cold, calm and elegant, this guy just *oozed* sinister charm, Moaning Myrtle, with her high-pitched sobs and shrieks was an unexpected surprise and Colin Creevy, the forerunner to Book Four's reporter Rita Skeeter and J. K. Rowling's dig at the media was a small, but essential gem, and I love that split-second scene of horror on his face as the runaway Buldger hurtles towards him!

Finally the sets, costumes and props are lovely, but the special effects are only so-so. The Quidditch game (again more visually exciting than any written account) is very good, as is the 'monster in the chamber', but the phoenix, spiders and Dobby could have used some tweaking.
All in all, a fun, interesting, colourful, sometimes-scary, and faithful adaptation to a beloved book, that (along with the Two Towers) brought 2002 to a fantasy-filled climax in the movie industry.

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Overall, "Chamber of Secrets" was very enjoyable. The acting couldn't have been better. Daniel Radcliffe nearly outdid himself this time around. He is everything Harry should be and seems to pull it off effortlessly, quietly endearing the audience to him. Rupert Grint is fabulous as well. His facial expressions and voice inflections always find a way to make me smile. Kenneth Branagh (who I haven't been fond of in other roles) is obnoxiously appealing as the flamboyant Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) shine in their roles as perfectly as they did in "Sorcerer's Stone." The late Richard Harris gives a memorable and touching performance as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

The special effects were stunning. From the Whomping Willow to the quidditch match to Aragog's spidery lair to the final confrontation in the Chamber of Secrets, everything (particularly the quidditch match) looked thoroughly real and was all I could have hoped for it to have been.

It was a lot of fun seeing some of my favorite scenes brought to life. I absolutely loved the polyjuice potion part (it was so funny!), Harry's stay at the Burrow (although I wish that part could have been longer), and Ron, Fred, and George's flying car rescue of Harry.

However, there were some aspects of the movie that I found less appealing. Be forewarned, there are more differences from the book in this movie than the first. Most of them don't really get in the way of the story, but a few I found to be personally annoying (and won't mention them here for fear of spoilage).

"Chamber of Secrets," like every movie based on a book, loses something in the translation from page to reel, but Chris Columbus has succeeded once again in creating a spectacular representation of the magical world that we Muggles have come to love.

Bottom Line: Not as good as the first movie but still a must-see for HP fans. The brilliant acting makes up for most plot changes.

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