Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger await when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s magical abilities and courage.
Chamber of Secrets is a competent and entertaining sequel that faithfully adapts Rowling's second novel, but it leans heavily on the established formula of its predecessor. The mystery of the Chamber is engaging and the Basilisk climax is thrilling, but the plot is slower and more formulaic than the first film, with a somewhat predictable villain reveal. Acting from the young leads is solid but still developing, while Rickman, Smith, and Branagh (as the delightfully pompous Lockhart) elevate the adult cast. Cinematography by Roger Pratt is handsome and atmospheric, maintaining the warm Gothic look of the series without breaking new visual ground. Novelty suffers most — this is a by-the-numbers sequel that replicates the structure of the first film almost beat-for-beat (new Hogwarts year, new mystery, new Defense teacher, climactic confrontation). The ending delivers satisfying resolution with the Basilisk battle and Dobby's liberation, but it's somewhat drawn out at over two and a half hours.