Nicer and Nicerer (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (DVD)
Date:	29/12/06 (113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Imaginative, fast, family movie

Disadvantages: It's all so very "nice" !

Harry’s second term at Hogwart’s school for witches and wizards is off to a bad start, even before he gets there. A visitation from a magical elf named Dobby warns Harry that he should not go back to the school, as his life is in danger. In spite of the warning, Harry decides to go back to the school, and after a mishap with a flying car and a magic tree, he is delighted to be reunited with his friends Hermione and Ron.

But something strange is taking place at Hogwart’s. An age-old mystery has returned to the dark corridors of the ancient school. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened and the students of Hogwart’s are in grave danger. Only Harry and his friends can prevent the secret of the chamber destroying the school once and for all.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is of course, the second instalment in J K Rowling’s phenomenally successful series of children’s stories. Currently in production at the rate of one per year, the Harry Potter films have become something of a Christmas cinema phenomenon and based on audience anticipation alone, they could hardly fail whatever the quality of the output turned out to be. I find the Harry Potter films incredibly difficult to review largely because I have to balance my expectations from a film against those of the target audience. Whilst there is much to be admired and enjoyed in this film, rather like its predecessor, I couldn’t help thinking that there was something missing from the start through to the finish.

One thing’s for sure – you couldn’t fault a Harry Potter film for not having enough imagination. The world of Hogwart’s is a truly fantastic one, and the Chamber of Secrets continues to demonstrate those little touches that set these stories above the competition. From telegrams that form screaming paper mouths to magical trees with roots that scream, the film is a spectacle from start to finish. One of the things that struck me most about the first film was the sheer imagination that had gone into the stories, and whilst many of the ideas were seen in the first film, The Chamber of Secrets still has the same immense spirit of fun. There is also plenty of the same mischievous humour – the scene involving Ron vomiting slugs springs to mind. That aside, the second film doesn’t have quite the same sparkle as the first film, which is not surprising given that it is simply re-introducing us to characters and locations that we have already seen.

Whilst the Chamber of Secrets may have been written as a story for children, I have to say that I thought the plot was absolute rubbish. Despite the fact that the story was quite clearly intended to be fairly simple – a mysterious secret, with a link to somebody in the present day – it all seemed rather silly to me. One thing that irritates me about films like this is that they feature supposedly powerful sorcerers (enter Dumbledore) who seem incapable of sorting anything out for themselves. Although the chamber has previously caused the school a lot of trouble, it comes as no surprise to find out that it is Harry and his friends that have to save the day. Is it only me, or do these “kids save the say” stories not seem terribly contrived? I’m quite happy and willing to watch a film featuring child heroes, but when the supporting cast contains such supposedly powerful characters I feel rather cheated when they don’t generally get involved.

In light of the fact that many audience members will be children, the makers have stuck to the first rule of a child’s film – never pause for breath. As such, the Chamber of Secrets romps along at a breakneck pace, with hardly any respite. This is entirely a good thing for me, because it means that we are saved the misery of pointless sentimental relationship story lines. The friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione is demonstrated through their adventures, not through irritating moments of simpering. The downside to this, of course, is that some parts of the film seem rather rushed. For example, the teachers decide to train the students in the art of duelling – a potentially exciting sequence of events, but it’s all over within the blink of an eye. The Quidditch game (hockey on broomsticks) also seems over far too quickly, and you can’t help thinking it’s all a result of the need to get to the next scene as speedily as possible.

The other problem that I have with both of the Harry Potter films is that everything seems rather too sanitised. Everyone is all “frightfully frightful” and every time Ron says the word “bloody” I can almost hear the voice of the director asking whether he will get away with it. The tone of the film is very much in keeping with the television series that one might find on CBBC of an afternoon. There’s no blood, no violence and only a few moments of “mild peril” (as the censors would say.) I’ll happily and readily accept that this is entirely appropriate to the audience, but I’m not sure the same thing can be said of the content of the story. There are times, for instance, when the subject matter turns decidedly dark and sinister, and it is at these times that I was uncomfortable with the film. Whether people like it or not, monsters, murder and death are not particularly nice things, so it doesn’t matter how much you lace them with sugar – you can’t really disguise them. At Hogwart’s all the ghosts are friendly, the cold stone corridors are warm and the life threatening inhabitants of the cellar roam for fifty years without a problem. It just doesn’t sit well with me at all. Throughout the film I found myself wondering what things would be like if the basic plot remained the same, but things were made for a slightly more mature audience.

The cast of the film falls happily into one of two camps- they’re all either extremely likeable or utterly irritating.

In “Extremely Likeable” house we have Harry himself. Daniel Radcliffe continues to excel as the apprentice wizard and never crosses the line into nerd territory. Robbie Coltraine’s Hagrid continues to be an inspiration, with his impossibly large frame still dwarfing the young students. In the Chamber of Secrets, we probably don’t see enough of him, but he is still immensely enjoyable to watch. Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is still delightfully horrible and looks set to grow into a perfect nemesis for our Harry. Alan Rickman’s Professor Snape is also rather underused, but despite his rather odd appearance, you can tell that Rickman revels in every poisonous word. I have also decided that I now like Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) who in the space of a year seems to have matured rather more than any of the other students. Finally, Richard Harris provides some strong competition for Ian McKellen in the contest for best screen wizard. My vote is probably with Harris and his wonderful portrayal of Dumbledore.

On the other hand, there are also plenty of students in “Utterly Irritating” house. Head boy must surely be Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) who is excruciating from start to finish. Having obviously just graduated from the school of over-acting, he simpers and grimaces his way through the film, desperately inciting the audience to want his death to occur as soon as possible. On the whole, most of the Weasley family would end up here with him (although Julie Walters just about restores some faith in the grubby little unit.) Kenneth Branagh provided the essential comedy coward in the shape of Gilderoy Lockhart, and should probably fire his agent for getting him such a dreadful part. Miriam Margoyles is seen far too often in children’s productions and plays exactly the same part she always does – a mad woman. Sigh. Even the computer-generated characters aren’t up to much. Dobby the elf seemed unnecessary to me- a cynic would say that he was there just to compete with Gollom in the LOTR2. Suffice it to say there is no contest. Down with Dobby!

The Chamber of Secrets is a fairly worthy successor to the Philosopher’s Stone. The special effects continue to be very accomplished, the settings are visually spectacular and there is more than enough adventure to keep most audience members engrossed. My main reservation is that everything is just too “nice”, but nobody could deny that the film delivers the goods and provides two hours of spectacular entertainment. Nonetheless, if ever a film could be described as “safe” then this would be it, and I found myself longing to see the makers taking off their safety belts, just to see what would happen.

Summary: When Harry Met Dobby