So my original plan was to settle down and try and watch all the Harry Potter films in a week or so (The plan failed, as 9 days into April now and I've not got round to watching number 3 yet), but I still intend to. The film I was least looking forward to watching was this one, The Chamber Of Secrets. This is actually no fault of the film, it turns out, but is in fact a result of the second book always being my least favourite book. It was my least favourite for a simple reason, it got real dark, real quick, and it dragged out what is essentially a similar storey to the first one, but with more confusion (things that only really get explained in the later books). The main problem with the film is still the story, and whilst I can't ignore that about the film, I also find it hard to pin blame on anyone but the author for that.
The story picks up a month or so after the last film ends. He's back with his aunt and uncle, he thinks his friends have forgotten him and he's miserable. He meets Dobby the house elf, who warns him not to go back to Hogwarts because he is in danger, but Harry is whisked off by the Weasleys and finds his way back to school. There are sinister things going on at school revolving around 'The Chamber Of Secrets', and it is up to Harry, Ron and Hermione to save the day once again. It's in this film that Harry begins to question his loyalties and we learn a little more about Voldemort and his past. Like I say, much of the film makes a lot more sense in the context of the later books/films, so this time watching it I found it less jarring than the first time I watched it.
The actors have somehow, in the course of one year, gone from being bright eyed children to teenagers. It's really weird and I can't believe how fast they grew (it was films basically straight after the first one). That being said they're still very much at the early stages of their learning and still find themselves making new discoveries both of a scholarly nature and socially. It is in this film that we learn just how rotton the Malfoy family are, and where we see the beginnings of a blossoming romance for Harry. It is really quite refreshing watching the film again having seen the rest.
The film keeps much of the same aesthetics from the first film, probably because it's the same director, there is still a strong colourful flourish to the film, and some of the performances could still fit in nicely in panto rather than in a film, but again, it's a kids film so you kind of forgive it. What this film is missing that the first film had (and indeed the third one had), was some of the pure inventiveness that makes Harry Potter so refreshing. You get your first mention of Azkaban, but no real reason to dread it as much as we are indicated we should (we realise why in the next film).
This film isn't bad, it's not as good as the first one, and indeed is probably one of the weakest two Harry Potter films, but it's enjoyable enough, it won't put you off watching any more, and like I say, I was never keen on the book, so my views on the film are slightly marred by that.
No comments:
Post a Comment