Potter-Watch (30 of 77) Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Harry Potter franchise apologizes to Richard Harris for having his last film be among the worst in the series. If only he had lived eight more years, he could've seen this series to its finish. There's been a lot of debate about whether or not this film is better than the first, and I obviously fall in favor of the first. This film does have a lot of things going for it and against it, and that creates a rather mixed experience. For a kid, this was probably an entertaining film, and it still is to some degree, but it is painfully limited. The second installment in the franchise finds Hogwarts facing several unanticipated attacks on muggleborn students, and it somehow has a connection to a mysterious piece of the school's mythology known as the Chamber of Secrets, and there we have our title.

The plot is spurred forth by Dobby, the main new character that we are introduced to in this installment. The earnest little house elf did garner some mild comparisons to Jar Jar Binks at the time, which is something that I personally can't find. He's just a lovable character, even if he is quite mischievous in this episode. The short moment when he is actually abused by Lucius Malfoy really gets us to sympathize more for him. I actually wish we had seen more of him in this film, which leads me into my first huge complaint. The film is far too long for its own good, stretching out to being illogically the longest in the franchise. Director Chris Columbus still refuses to cut out the slightest line of dialogue, or to distill any of the plot points down the essentials. The mixed reception of this film would end up being the reason for future plot points being left out.

There's also an obvious lack of narrative focus or meaning. There doesn't really feel like there's an emotional pay off to anything. The Dursleys continue to hog too much screen time, even if they're only in the film for ten minutes. The actors have improved ever so slightly. Rupert Grint is a lot less ignorant and annoying, and in all honesty, is there any pathetic soul who isn't afraid of spiders? Daniel Radcliffe continues to grow into the role, though he still has a long way to go. Emma Watson hasn't quite matured that much, but her character is bound to develop after this year. It would be a shame not to mention Richard Harris, and he does as splendid a job as usual. We can only wish he had been given a bit more to work with. The real stand out is Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, who is definitely one of my favorite supporting characters in these films.

The technical values are slightly improved from the first film, with visual effects being the main one. Sound editing and mixing still needs a great deal of work before becoming of the expert quality we expect from this series. John Williams composes pretty much nothing new for this film, and instead recycles music from his first adventure with the series. If I'm going to admit more displeasures with this film, they'll probably be that the characters simply act far too illogically given what has happened to them. Also, I absolutely hate Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. This film has its merits, but they are few, and it lands this episode somewhere towards the bottom of the heap. There really isn't much more I can say, and thus this is the shortest review you are likely to get this week.

B-

Potter-Watch (29 of 77) Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Nearly ten years has gone by since this journey began, and when people think back based on merely memory, this may be one of the worst films of the series. I'd definitely contest that the worst of this series is still better by far than most films out there. As the series has expanded, the world of the first film seems so much more interesting and fun. Early on in the film, just after Hagrid and Harry leave the Dursleys, there is a shot that encompasses London, and in the distance, we can see the millennium bridge, just five years before it is demolished by death eaters. It's something that Christopher Columbus could've never predicted at the time, and it appears by pure happenstance. In a way, it's a small miracle tucked inside a larger one.

Now, what made this first film such a success wasn't the quality of the work the cast and crew did. After all, the film was made by Christopher Columbus, who has gone on to make such films as I Love You Beth Cooper and Percy Jackson and the etc.. More than anything, what made this film a hit was the source material. The book itself is such an amazing thing adored by so many children, myself included. As Rowling herself said, "If it gets published, it will sell", and she was 100% correct in that account. When the film came out, there was such a huge following that people just ate it up. These days it's hard to forget how many people are in love with this series, and we can attribute that to the absurdity of the Twilight phenomenon. Whenever I hear about some annoying teenage girl who dislikes Harry Potter but loves The Twilight Saga, I feel the impulse to smack them in the face. Not with my hand, but with a hammer.

Sorcerer's Stone may not be the ultimate introduction to the series, but it isn't all that bad. There are definitely things I dislike about the film, first of all being the young actors. Nobody's a credible actor at that point in their life (except maybe Chloe Moretz), and the three that show that point off in your face are Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) and Rupert Grint (Ron). Just look at how far they've come. They've all come from humble beginnings to becoming more mature as the films go on. To their credit, the ten years in between then and now have made them a incredibly more tolerable. I mean, what kid isn't that annoying at that age. They're eleven. Cut them some slack.

As for the story, which you should know already by now, young Harry Potter finds out he's a wizard and escapes his abusive A.U.C. (Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin) to go learn magic at the greatest wizarding school there is: Hogwarts. Daniel Radcliffe does a pretty credible job of portraying Harry's wonder, not only at this fantastic new world, but at the fact that he's famous. It's a fame that came at a terrible price, that being the loss of his parents when he was just an infant. When you really get to thinking about it, this is already one of the saddest stories ever told. If he could turn back time, and choose from the two lives before him, he would definitely have chosen to grow up with his parents, and never become famous. That's just not the path that was given to him.

It helps the story along to have the cream of British talent filling up the supporting cast. Such actors as Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, and the delightful Alan Rickman bring something special to the table. As for the technical aspects, they are pretty unimpressive. The cinematography lacks the smooth texture of the rest of the franchise, opting for something that makes the film feel ripped out of the late 1980s. There's no doubt that John Williams is a magnificent composer, but this is still one of his worst scores to date. We all know and love the main theme, but it's used way too much in this film, and everything else lacks the same sort of charm. Voldemort's theme works the first time around, but after that, it fails to reach the same impact. As a matter of fact, it hasn't really been used much since.

As for the visual effects, they're mostly just brought down by the quality of the cinematography. When ranking the films, this one is undoubtedly in the bottom half of the list, just because they have gotten so much better since then. However, like I said before, it's not a bad movie. There are plenty of enjoyable bits in this movie, and I forgot how funny and geeky Hermione was in her first year. For me one of the funniest moments in the entire series remains when Harry first takes off on his broomstick, despite Hermione protesting that he doesn't know how to fly, and then her remarking in that pitch-perfect know-it-all manner, "What an idiot!" It was somewhat juvenile back then, but looking back now, I just can't help bursting into laughter. Just seeing the origins of these characters is enough to garner a smile. If this is among the worst of the series, then what does that tell you about where we're headed?

B