Starring:
 Daniel Radcliffe
 Rupert Grint
 Emma Watson
 Richard Harris

Directed by:
 Chris Columbus

Overall Crave Factor

Okay, in the first movie, you had a sad little whelp of a kid who gets shipped off to Wizard school, where he is confused and lost among kids who have been around this stuff their whole lives. He gains two very good friends in the trouble-prone Ron Weasely, and powerhouse female Hermione Granger. They solve a mystery, save the school and Harry faces the evil wizard who killed his parents. Now it’s the next year, voices have changed and the kids are on their way back to Hogwarts for another year.

First off, this is one of those rare kid-flicks that should be seen in a theatre full of rugrats. I know, I know, they’re loud, they’re fidgety, they ask questions through the movie. Well, not this one. It is not much of an understatement to say that after last years unbelievable success with the first film, and the slow infiltration of the Harry Potter books into our culture, there is not a kid alive in the modernized world that does not know all about Harry Potter. The theatre we saw the film in, was full of kids in costumes, discussing the ins and outs of the world of Harry Potter and what they were expecting to see on the big screen. These kids ranged from 4 years old to sixteen and seventeen. There were lots of people my own age, without kids. I can not recall the last time I saw such a wide segment of the population represented in one place – harmoniously.

I went down to see Big Dino early in the afternoon to get some tickets and talk shop, by opening day they had already sold more than half of the theatre for all of the shows throughout the day. By 1, when I got there, they were ¾ full, despite the show being five hours away. (That’s without internet sales or phone-ins, as this particular theatre is not set up for the techno-advanced.) What does that tell you about the popularity of a film? Then to get there and find such an immense cross-section of society. Almost mindblowing.

Anyways, the kids are dressed in their robes and hats, Harry Potter Halloween costumes are everywhere, as are little girls with crimped hair and broomsticks. The lights went down and the curtain came up and cheers filled the house. After the trailers, when the WB logo hit alongside that now-familiar score, the crowd applauded throughout the credits. A huge whoop! Went out for Rupert Grint who plays Ron Weasely, and the smattering of applause became a thunderous quake when Richard Harris’ name appeared.

Throughout the film there was only the expected noise, laughs in the right parts, shocked gasps in others. No talking, no whining, no crying and not one of those little oompa-loompas moved for the entire three hours. No one left for the bathroom, no one had to push their way through the rows of seats to escort a kid outside after drooping a drink.

Yes. It is true. Harry Potter has the power to control a five year old bladder. That, my friends, is true wizardry.

As for the film itself, much has been made of the young cast and their steadily advancing puberty – they seem older, just like when you spent that summer away and came back to find your friends wearing aftershave and going to the arcade with girls, instead of BBQ’ing frogs with a magnifying glass. This is no big deal. These kids are all around 12 right now, and have at least one more movie to lead into their hormonal issues. Besides, in the books, they are 16-ish by the time they get to the fourth book. Right on track.

The three main characters – Harry, Ron and Hermione – are all still very charming and playful. Radcliffe seems a little stiff in some scenes, but that suits the character well. In the end when the shazbot hits the fan, the kid delivers and plays action-hero with some admirable grit.

The supporting cast is just as able as in #1, although Richard Harris is quite visibly aged and shaken, compared to his previous appearance. He was an integral part of the mix, and will be sorely missed come the next entry. Robbie Coltrane and Dame Mags are, of course, golden. Jason Isaacs is both effectively creepy, and effeminately ridiculous as the sublime villain Lucius Malfoy. Tom Felton, who plays Harry’s nemesis Draco Malfoy, is someone to keep an eye on. This kid has some real charisma and natural talent. The many other small roles and cameos are just as well-performed. The real news, obviously, is Kenneth Branagh’s performance as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart – a pompous ass of a fop. Outrageously funny in both his arrogance and cowardice, Branagh easily steals the show, whenever he is on screen.

The effects are incredibly well done – especially the mischievous house-elf Dobby, and the thirty-foot long snake that resides in the titular chamber. The visuals are just as striking as in HP #1 and just fine tuned enough to push things along.

The story moves fast, and thankfully excises most of the material concerning Harry’s ‘family’ the Durselys, who are quite unlikable in every way. I know they are supposed to be nasty, but they are just uncomfortably rotten and set the tone of the film back. Once we are ‘on the road’ with Harry and Ron, things look straight up. A cleverly mysterious story about a hidden chamber, an evil creature and an alarmingly Nazi-like prophecy, rages along at mostly breakneck speed and never fails to excite and to please.

The theatre was exploding with applause by the end of the film, and I would imagine that, just like last year, CHAMBER OF SECRETS will have a tremendous theatrical run well into the New Year. Just remember kids – next stop TWO TOWERS on December 18!!!