HP Review: Part II

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
(2002; Chris Columbus)







New Faces

I think we can all agree that Dobby the House Elf translated very well to the big screen. He's cute, but in a very peculiar way. Props to Toby Jones for providing the perfect inflections for the voice and props to the art department for everything else. Dobby's glaring absence from any subsequent Potter film has been quite the disappointment.

Good news: Toby Jones will be returning for both installments of Deathy Hallows (scheduled for 2010 and 2011). Well duh, how in the world were they going to pull that one off without Dobby? Yes, they have creatively rearranged story bits to avoid the trouble of including him (e.g. in the fifth movie, where Neville discovers the Room of Requirement in lieu of Dobby). And it will be interesting to see how the sixth movie manages to omit him. Thankfully the filmmakers are not stupid enough to attempt the seventh installment without him.


Kenneth Branagh is another artful addition to the cast as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Branagh provides the perfect balance of carisma, egotism, and bafoonery. He also plays clueless extremely well when a memory spell backfires. Best line: [in the Chamber of Secrets] "It's an odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"


Acting

The most notable change in the core three (Radcliffe, Grint, Watson) is that Ronald Weasley has developed an endearing voice crack whenever he utters "Bloody Hell!" It is also fun to see Grint recieve more attention in this film, since he is the strongest actor of the core three. He flies a car, burps up slugs, and helps Harry rescue Ginny from a basilisk. And Grint manages to do all this with clumsy, endearing flaire.

Otherwise, it appears the cast is settling into their respective roles for the long run. Overall the cast has improved since "Sorcerer's Stone." But as proof that Radcliffe's acting chops still need work, he has the lamest line in the whole series thus far: [to Ron, while falling out of a flying car] "You're hand's all sweaty!"


Overall Rating: A-