Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Director: Chris Columbus
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Runtime: 161 minutes

Synopsis: During Harry's second year at Hogwarts, many students are victims of terrible attacks all related to a mysterious room hidden somewhere in the castle known as the Chamber of Secrets.  

Performances: 6/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Costumes/Makeup: 8/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 8/10

Verdict: "Chamber of Secrets" is Chris Columbus' second and final contribution to the Harry Potter franchise. After setting up the universe in the first entry, he opted for a tonally darker approach for the sequel. A tone that was explored more extensively in future installments. However, "Chambers of Secrets" still feels very much like an extension of "Sorcerer's Stone". It still has quite a bit of cheese and goof in it, the child performances are still not quite there yet, and the special effects, while being better, still look a bit dated. The new characters introduced, from Dobby to Lucius, were all given the introduction they deserved (except maybe for Ginny who I feel is one of the most underdeveloped characters in the franchise). Now the first movie had the task of setting up the universe, which it succeeded in doing. This one focused more on setting up the bigger themes of the franchise such as friendship, family, or even acceptance and racism. It's while watching "Chamber of Secrets" that I first understood that Harry Potter was not just about a young wizard going on a different adventure in every movie, but was also about us muggles and our everyday lives. I believe that Chris Columbus, while his films are considered to be the least liked two in the franchise, got the job beautifully done despite some hiccups here and there, and is to thank for the success of the 6 sequels that followed.  

Final Grade: 7/10