- Hardly a sophomore slump, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets represents a modest improvement over the young wizard's previous film adventure. Whether the first film sagged under the burdens of introduction or this one was raised in quality by Kenneth Branagh, Chris Columbus' sequel at least proves more compelling and entertaining than its predecessor. At first, young Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) face a relatively innocuous set of challenges in the forms of cryptic house elves, intimidating Malfoys (Tom Felton and Jason Isaacs), a whomping willow tree, and moaning ghosts (Shirley Henderson). By the end, they're evading giant spiders, battling a deadly basilisk, and facing off with a young version of an old foe-who-shall-not-be-named.
- As the amusingly pompous Gilderoy Lockhart, Branagh often steals the show, which is quite a feat considering the enormous amount of British acting talent contained within any of the Potter films. Still, the movie's greatest accomplishment may be the ease with which it subtly transforms from a whimsical children's story into a more weighty young adult adventure. When Hogwart's students suddenly turn up petrified next to messages written in blood, the stakes feel quite a bit higher than in your average game of Quidditch. It's not great cinema by any stretch, but you'd be hard pressed to imagine a better cast turning in a more safely respectable adaptation than this.
- The entire rest of the cast was back, so I won't bother mentioning them by name. Sadly, Richard Harris died just before this movie was released.
