During summer recess at his muggle family home, Harry Potter
receives a visitor in the form of a house elf named Dobby. Dobby has come to
warn Harry not to return to Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry because
there is a plot brewing against him. Dobby's warnings ring true when Harry runs
into trouble getting to Hogwarts--first, a trusted portal at the train station
will not open for him, and once he arrives at Hogwarts, he's nearly killed by an
angry willow tree. The mystery deepens when Mr. Filch's cat turns up petrified,
and there is a warning written in blood on the wall that states that the Chamber
Of Secrets has been opened.
The Chamber Of Secrets is a pretty nasty place that had been constructed in
Hogwarts by one of the school's founders, the dark wizard whom Slytherin house
is named after. There is some sort of unnamable horror that dwells within the
Chamber Of Secrets, which can only be opened by the true heir of Slytherin.
Everybody thinks that Harry is the heir, since he has an extraordinarily innate
power over magic, as well as being able to speak to and control snakes, which
was a distinctive power that Slytherin also had. But if Harry truly is the heir
to this dark power, he doesn't have much control over it. Because several
students, including Hermione, have been petrified by the unnamed horror. And
while Hermione and the others lie frozen like statues in the school hospital
wing, Harry and Ron must try and get to the bottom of the mystery, which has
even entangled Hagrid and Dumbledore in its sticky web.
The Chamber Of Secrets tries to be The Empire Strikes Back of the Harry Potter
films--in other words, a darker and grittier sequel that takes the film series
in a bold new direction. But it doesn't really suceed. The problem is that the
first film had more of a wondrous, "Wizard Of Oz" quality to it that made it so
enjoyable. Not only does the second film lack this, but without that wondrous
quality to keep the viewer's interest, it actually gets a little ponderous at
times. After 90 minutes, I was so bored that I started glancing at the clock and
wondered whether I should do the dishes.
Something else that annoyed me was the overly chatty villain at the end of the
film. While I certainly understand the need for exposition, having the villain
explaining everything away seemed a little silly to me. And not only that, but
he was also chortling--literally chortling--over how vastly superior his grand
plan was, and how he would crush everybody like bugs, etc. The result was that
instead of a final confrontation where they are fighting for their lives, we are
treated to a lengthy--and dull--scene with Harry and the villain just standing
around talking for several minutes. Another annoying thing was that Dobby the
house Elf and the giant spider scene remind me too much of elements from The
Lord Of The Rings, namely Gollum, and that big bad bitch of a spider Sheloub,
respectively. Where Gollum was a fully realized character that made you forget
that he was a special effect, Dobby is basically the one-note CGI effect that
we've come to know and hate in movies. And the less said about the spider scene
the better; if you really want to be genuinely creeped out by a spider, watch
Sam take on Sheloub in LOTR: The Return Of The King. That big bugger puts every
single cinematic giant spider in the last 50 years to shame.
On the plus side, once the climatic showdown finally gets rolling, with Harry
squaring off against the monstrous menace from the Chamber Of Secrets, it is a
rousing battle. The film's production design really looks great in this scene, as the climax takes
place in an imaginative underground setting that is half flooded. Another plus
is the performance of Kenneth Branagh, who shines as the new Defense Against The
Dark Arts teacher who is deeply in love with himself. The two-disc set comes
with the standard "making of" documnetaries and interviews, along with some
deleted scenes. The bulk of the extras are games and activites for younger viewers.--SF
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