Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Film Review

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, John Cleese

Director: Chris Columbus

Synopsis: Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his 2nd year, but a terrifying entity is attacking the students, causing chaos for the school and its teachers.

Review: Given the immense popularity of these books before these movies were made, it was almost something of an inevitability that Warner Bros made quite a healthy profit on their investment to acquire the rights to these movies. The Philosopher’s Stone raked in close to a billion dollars against a budget of 125 million dollars, and set the scene for the next chapter in this franchise, and the magical world that the first film set up so beautifully is gratefully kept going in this instalment.

With Steve Kloves again penning the script with Chris Columbus again taking on directing duties, it doesn’t take long before things at Hogwarts begin to go a bit awry. Dark, creepy sinister voices, writing on the wall in blood, students being petrified, giant terrifying looking spiders. This may have been a children’s book, but there are themes present in this movie that are certainly much more adult, and it isn’t afraid to go in dark places. There is a considerable shift in tone, an ominous presence is lurking in the shadows at Hogwarts, something the plucky trio of Harry Ron, and Hermione must put all of their skills and their plucky second year wit to the test to solve.

Columbus once again delivers his great vision for this magical world and it is once again beautiful to watch Hogwarts brought to life. There are considerably more effects involved here, including the quite brilliant flying car vs the Hogwarts train sequence. The Quidditch is also a lot much more enjoyable to watch here. Having spent the first movie setting up this world and the characters, the main focus is on the story and the ensuing crisis that Hogwarts finds itself in in this particular school year. There are some slower moments in this chapter, but having introduced this world and all of its magical qualities, there is time to build and develop these, particularly the relationships between the central trio of Harry Ron and Hermione, who all remain excellent in their roles. In addition, Tom Felton who was perfect as the sneering bully Malfoy, somehow manages to make himself even more unlikable than in the first movie.

Likewise, everyone who was present is also on stellar form, and a number of new additions who also made their mark on the franchise, namely the sinister father of Draco Malfoy, Lucius played by Jason Isaacs. Like his son, he’s a cold and unlikable presence, like father, like son. Replacing the late Quirrell in the Defence Against the Dark Arts Post is Gilderoy Lockhart, a bumbling idiot and a man who seems to be more interested in his fame and appeal to the ladies than his job as a teacher at Hogwarts. Last but by no means least is Dobby, a house elf who while at first seems incredibly grating and annoying, is ultimately a strong willed elf who wants to aid Harry in his quest, any way he can, even if some of his methods are somewhat perplexing.

Chamber of Secrets doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor, but it is still an entertaining ride in this brilliant magical world. Columbus deserves enormous credit for bringing together this remarkable universe to the big screen for its first two films, and for casting just about the perfect actors for every role. The film does lose some of the magic that the first film had in in abundance, but it remains a solid presence in the Harry Potter universe and ensures the spell of the franchise remains .

Despite boasting some cool moments and visuals with a darker tone than the first movie, Chamber of Secrets is not quite as enthralling as its predecessor, with some slow moments bogging it down.

Image is property of Warner Bros Studios and Heydey Films

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Film Review

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Ian Hart

Director: Chris Columbus

Synopsis: After spending years suffering abuse from his aunt, uncle and cousin, on his 11th birthday, a boy named Harry Potter receives a letter to study at the great Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Review: When one Joanne Kathleen Rowling sat at an Edinburgh cafe in the 1990s, and an idea for a story of a young boy finding out he’s a wizard came into her mind, she probably could have barely imagined the power of the words she was writing, of the vivid and incredible world she was creating. Sure enough, seven books later, the world of Harry Potter had millions upon millions of fans across the globe, and Rowling become one very wealthy lady. Naturally, it was almost inevitable that this world would get brought onto the big screen, and that journey began in 1998 when Rowling sold the film rights to the first four books for a cool one million pounds. Thus, Harry’s journey from book to screen began.

Like the world of Middle Earth, the world of Hogwarts and all the magic that it encompasses is so vast and so rich in detail, even if a viewer has never read Rowling’s brilliant novels, the magic on screen is enough to ensure the viewer is consumed by this world of magic and all that it is has to offer. The place of Hogwarts has so much history and so much backstory to it, it is a world that is immediately enthralling. Director Christopher Columbus brings it all to the big screen, and all of those incredible places the wizarding world has to offer. With a screenplay by Steve Kloves, the filmmakers checked with Rowling to check that everything was correct, and while there are some omissions and changes in certain places, it remains as faithful as it can to its source material, which does pose some problems, but these are not enough to drag the movie down.

Right from the off, Rowling insisted on British actors for the characters, an insistence that resulted in Steven Spielberg passing on the opportunity to take on directing duties. Yet whoever made the final decision on the casting of these characters deserves enormous praise, as the casting is just about perfect. While Daniel Radcliffe may have been a little bit rusty in certain places, he carried the enormous burden of the role very well. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were also excellent choices. The chemistry between these three actors simply had to be perfect in order for the franchise to succeed, and thankfully, they did. Similarly, casting Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall, the late Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, and Robbie Coltrane as the lovable Hagrid were further examples of particularly inspired casting choices. Looking back, it is quite hard to imagine another actor playing these roles!

With just about the perfect cast, Columbus delivered a truly magical movie that made every fan who read Rowling’s books fall in love with Hogwarts all over again. The set decoration is just beautiful and you’d think that Hogwarts is a place you can visit. Alas it’s not but the Warner Bros Studio Tour near London is about as close as you can get! This is in no small part down to John Williams’s incredible score, and that beautiful theme that instantly transports you to the magical world of Harry Potter. The Quidditch match, Diagon Alley, and that very climatic final battle with the chess board is all beautifully well realised. The first movie in a franchise is crucial to its success, and this ensured the franchise got off to a very healthy start. It’s magical, intriguing, and every Potter fan no doubt left the cinema on cloud nine, while floating away on an imaginary Nimbus 2000!