A Statement before we begin –
tytdreviews.com/2026/01/03/a-word-on-j-k-rowling/

A somewhat ‘rocky’ continuation into the film adaptations of the Harry Potter books. ‘Chamber of Secrets’ takes everything I liked about the adaptation of ‘Philosophers Stone’ and basically goes ‘Pfft. we dont NEED that kind of pleasent and well made craftsmanship, we need ONE OFF MOMENTS!’ Because, thats pretty much the only thing I enjoyed when it came to this film. a series of about half a dozen or so disconnected moments totalling about 5-10 minutes of the films full 2 HOUR AND 40 MINUTE RUNTIME OH MY CHRIST.

I dont know what possessed them to make the 2nd shortest book in the series the longest film adaptation, but I for one was definitely not a fan.

The script itself isnt exactly unpleasent, but its really just a bit of a nothing burger. a murder mystery where half the plot elements are pulled out of the authors backside to make it make sense, and while I remember the book being quite pacey in getting all the set elements in place and then letting the events unfold, the film version is in NO rush, plodding along barely mustering any kind of tension, and tripping over itself to put silly gags and random gurning to the camera in as many scenes as possible.

It feels like the production REALLY wanted to go into dark and gritty terratory, and the book does have some darker themes. But rather than using the preferred formula of whimsy and light comedy contrasting darker/sadder moments. Here they go for emo level darkness contrasting Tim Burton style physical comedy. and it just doesnt pack the right punch for me.

The characters overexplain EVERYTHING, WAY more than they did in the first film, scenarios and scenes drag on and on endlessly. and again, while I didnt hate this one. It seemed to do the absolute barest of minimums to keep me on side just about.

The cine and direction are fine enough, though this entry seems to favour more CG over practical effects, I know as the series goes on practical effects become a rarer and rarer thing, but I do miss a good model shot here and there when it could have worked. Technically, I cant really flaw this production it looks pretty solid, especially for 2002 higher budget cinema.

The performances are mixed, again I wont really go into detail on the kids performances, but I will say it feels like some of the cast have almost regressed in understanding their characters in this entry, Where they nailed the characterization in the first film. I will once again compliment Alan Rickman because…why not? he’s usually the best part of these movies. and I do have to credit Kenneth Branagh as Gildroy Lockheart, a wonderful realisation of the smarmy, self centered ‘perfect guy’ and Branagh plays all the twists and turns that come with it beautifully.

The scores kind of unremarkable, essentially rehashing the first films score, and its just more of the same, it helps keep the continuity going, but there arnt really that many well used moments, and a lot of the newer tracks sound kind of derivative of the older work.

In short ‘Chamber of Secrets’ is an ‘Arse Numb-er’ of a film. but not an unpleasent one. A Middling effort with a handful of fun moments, some decent (for the time) set pieces and special effects and some great performance turns. But that 2 hour 40 runtime is a SERIOUS blockade for me when it comes to rewatches, and I dont know how Kids today would take such a long and fairly uninteresting production. I reckon it’ll be a while before I respin this one again.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/harry-potter-and-the-chamber-of-secrets/