Harry Potter Is Back for a Second Twirl of the Wand
Harry Potter Is Back for a Second Twirl of the WandIn our time, no series of novels are more beloved than the Harry Potter books. I got a taste of how ravenous Magic Boy's fans are last year when I reviewed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I gave it a positive review. I really liked the film. But I had several nitpicks, namely that the movie felt a little more like a checklist than a motion picture. So, of course, I was barraged with email saying that I should never review a Harry Potter film again. Actually, my favorite emails were from those who recognized I liked the film, yet blasted me for supporting witchcraft. Then, there were those who believed in witchcraft who felt that the film had misrepresented their beliefs, and that I should have called it to task for doing so.
To each of them, I wrote back respectfully, "Uh, yeah. I see your point. Thanks for writing. In the meantime, please don't put a hex on me. And if you do ... uh, anything but the hair, OK?"
I must say that I did see the first film twice, and my second viewing was more rewarding than my first. I got more of the author J.K. Rowling's terminology down (newcomers to sagas like Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and so forth always have the toughest time figuring out who is who and what is what in the early going). And I really took to the people as film characters that second time out, especially the three lead kids.
Now it is a year later and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [has been] unlocked in theaters nationwide. I've seen it. I liked it. I'm hear to tell you all about it. So, put down the wands. Stop stirring the cauldrons. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the fairest one of all?" Durgin is, of course. Well, at least the fairest film critic.
Fans of the second book will already know the story. Again director Christopher Columbus has seen fit to bring the novel to life almost chapter by chapter. The film begins with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) at the end of a very disappointing summer vacation from Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He has been cooped up in his suburban England dwelling with his mean Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and shrewish Aunt Petunia. He has received no letters from his two best school pals Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). And he has no idea how he is going to return to the school that he has come to love so much.
Into his life comes Dobby, a magical house elf who warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts for death and despair await him there. Dobby is a mischievous creature, prone to banging himself on his head with various objects whenever he blurts out a secret or does something bad that he can't fix. He is also the sequel's most delightful new creation and de facto Yoda.
Harry is eventually rescued by Ron and his family, and the journey to Hogwarts begins again. For those who haven't read the book and wish to go into the film largely unspoiled, I will only say that the movie revisits nearly all of the characters and sets from the first film and introduces a couple of new elements into the film. Kenneth Brannagh has great fun as the overbearing Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, Hogwarts' new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor who spends as much time promoting himself at book signings as he does teaching in the classroom. Jason Isaacs, meanwhile, positively drips with malice and bad intentions as Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco, Harry's biggest rival at Hogwarts.
In terms of sequences, The Chamber of Secrets improves upon the Quidditch match of the first film to give us a more visceral, intense action setpiece. I also really liked the sequence in which Harry uses a magical diary to travel back in time at Hogwarts in his quest to uncover an evil long buried in the castle. As Harry glides through the past, the film uses a Pleasantville trick of keeping him in color while the rest of the action is in black and white. The visual trick is made all the more impressive given the fact that the sequence was shot at night, and Harry ducks in and out of the torch-lit halls of Hogwarts while the colorization remains flawless.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is darker and more intense than The Sorcerer's Stone. The very young kids in the audience may be a bit scared by sequences involving spiders, snakes, and a giant serpent that is one of the more impressive CGI creations I've seen. It's almost a bit too convincing, so be prepared for a few nightmares later. Again, though, I was disappointed that the film's villain never really seemed all that formidable. We get the sense of a hidden evil throughout the story. But like the first Harry Potter, the villain isn't fully revealed until the very end. And then that person spends half the time he/she is on screen twirling the proverbial mustache and explaining what has happened to bring the characters to this point.
I also wish that more of the background characters would be explored some to give the series some sorely needed texture. It's kind of laughable that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are at the center of everything that goes on in the school. The cast is gigantic, but this time out such venerable actors as Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall, Alan Rickman as Professor Snape, and Robbie Coltrane as the friendly oaf Hagrid have very little to do except stroke their costumes.
Fortunately, the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts, has some quietly elegant moments with Harry in this his big-screen swan song. Harris will truly be missed in these films and others (for more on this, read my short essay below on who should take over for him in future "Potter" films).
All in all, I really enjoyed The Chamber of Secrets. I enjoyed its mystery and its peril. Most of all, I enjoyed the film's spectacle. At 161 minutes, Columbus' greatest accomplishment is that he has once again made a movie mainly for children that does not drag. Much of the praise has to go to George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic company for throwing in visual effects both large and small in nearly every scene to keep our attention focused squarely on what is happening in this world that seems to exist just off-center of our own. From elves to apparitions and wizards to warlocks, the Harry Potter films are an exercise in quality filmmaking and storytelling ... and the filmmakers are learning new tricks each time out.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is rated PG for scary moments, some creature violence, and some very mild language.
WHO SHOULD BE DUMBLEDORE NOW? Sadly, Richard Harris died last month, leaving behind a legacy of motion-picture performances but a major hole in future Harry Potter films. Most people are saying the next Dumbledore should be played by Ian McKellan or Christopher Lee. But I think that is unimaginative thinking, given that these are the two British old guys of the moment thanks to the Rings and Star Wars flicks. Both men would be fine in the role, but McKellan IS Gandalf and it would be hard to separate the two characters. Lee, meanwhile, summons too much evil. How can he not be a bad guy at this point in his career? Dumbledore is goodness incarnate.
My two suggestions are a bit more obscure. I think Christopher Plummer would be simply smashing in the role. Anyone who saw him onstage in Barrymore or playing old men like in the 1990 John Boorman flick Where the Heart Is knows how much history and experience he can evoke with even the simplest of line readings. Or, for a more emotional choice, how about Richard Harris' best friend, Peter O'Toole? Having him take over for Harris as Lee has succeeded his good friend, Peter Cushing in Star Wars, would be movie magic indeed.
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