Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

9 out of 10
 

Harry Potter the world's most famous boy wizard dives straight into a new and more thrilling magical adventure in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The story line is nearly the same as the last one --something evil's afoot at Hogwarts; Harry and his pals must put it right--but fans of the books won't be disappointed. Director Chris Columbus, does a spectacular job rendering Rowling's imaginary world: the production design and costumes are really good, such is the impressive attention to detail.

Daniel Radcliffe gives a more mature performance here as Harry and seams to be growing into the character, though he's not quite strong enough to carry the film without the aid of an excellent cast of experienced adults, notably Kenneth Branagh. Of course, most people will already know what's going to happen as far as the story is concerned (is there any one out there that has not read the book?), so for them the pleasure in watching The Chamber of Secrets lies in the visualisation of Rowling's magical creations and the panache brought to the action sequences. One thing I felt lacking was that it just needed a bit more magic, seeing Harry Potters spec’s repaired yet again was a bit week. Aside from this it's fantastic fun for kids and adults alike.

Disk 1 DVD: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets's first disc offers the film in wide screen (2.35:1) and surround-sound.
Disk 2 DVD: The second disc's special features are few and rushed compared to last year's release, most notably the games, which are not worth playing. Gilderoy Lockhart's classroom is just a picture with nothing magical, and the interviews with teachers and students are very short lacking any interesting content. Don't get over excited about the "Build a Scene" feature we have seen it all before. The best thing on the disk is a 16-minute interview with JK Rowling and Steve Kloves about the transfer from book to screen. This is the only redeeming feature of the disk.