Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Opened in the USA on November 15, 2002, to record-breaking attendance, higher than HP&The Sorcerer's Stone

Mr. Rickman appeared at the London premiere of Harry Potter & The Chanber Of Secrets Nov 3. Heidi sent a link to the Rex Features photo site

Reviews

photo courtesy of Hannah

Kristen's Review
December 24, 2002

Overall Rating: 4.5 Hands
Rickmanista Rating: 3.5 Hands

OK. Here’s the deal. Alan Rickman doesn’t look like Alan Rickman when he is playing Severus Snape. They put a bunch of skanky looking hair on his head and made him even paler than he is. At least his eyes show through. And his voice is still his. But, GAD! Hello? HIS HAIR IS COVERED. That is a no-no in my opinion. Check out Sense and Sensibility if you have no utterly idea what I am talking about. The plot is good. But the Rickmanista rating is only a 3.5 because he barely gets any showing in it. Unlike the first. Really minor. But at least he’s in it. And the whole storyline rocks. The only reason I gave it a 4.5 is because Dobby the House Elf got REALLY annoying.
Sorry

Nina's Review
November 16, 2002

A gaggle of my coworkers and I dressed up the night of Nov. 15 to enjoy the premiere head on. I was a Slytherin student, complete with a button that read "Snape is my (House) Master." Popcorn in cauldron, we all settled in for the long-anticipated installment. Overall, Chamber of Secrets is better than the first movie. As with the books themselves, as Harry & Co. grow up, the stories become more complex, giving filmmakers more to play with. On the upside, this means CoS is darker yet funnier, with the young leads taking more and more to their craft and a much better rendering of Quidditch. On the downside, the movie, in another attempt to get a bit of everything in, glosses over some meaty characterization/relationship points. For example, while it maintains the theme of bigotry via the Malfoys and Tom Riddle, we lose the main thread of the novel, which is Harry's growing sense of isolation and of being ostracized in the one place he has come to call home. And we won't even discuss the ending, which makes no sense and is sadly weak after the nicely done scene before in which Harry tricks Lucius. Thankfully we had Jason Issacs at his delicious best (my friends and I now call him Luscious) and Branaugh nailing the egotistical Lockhart to balance things out.

But this IS Rickmanista, so the true crux here is the faring of Rickman as the enigmatic Snape. The character doesn't appear much in the novel, so I didn't expect much screen time. He was at his best with the children, with Harry and Ron once they arrived at Hogwarts and with Harry during the duel. While I don't wish for a caricature of Snape scowling at all n' sundry in the halls, I found some of his dialogue with Lockhart to lack the full cutting ability of his rapier wit. In fact, Snape almost seemed . . . nice, which isn't what we've come to love about our dear potions master. However, it's worth seeing if only to watch him move and hear that delightful voice. Take heart, though. The next movie, Prisoner of Askaban, should feature Snape more -- and give Rickman more to sink his teeth into -- since the character plays an integral part to the story.

Hannah's Review
November 17, 2002

Overall Rating = 5 hands
Rickman Rating = 5 hands

I just saw Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I loved it! I thoroughly enjoyed the second installment as much as the first.

J.K. Rowling co-wrote the screenplay for this film. Like the first movie, it was very close to the book. In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts to continue his schooling in wizardry. Unfortunately for Harry and Ron, their first day back was a disaster. We first see Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape in his office scolding the boys for being seen by Muggles driving a car in the sky. (You probably saw him in a commercial with the newspaper, same scene.) Mysteries and unknowing events occur at the school as the heir of Slytherin opens the Chamber of Secrets. Everyone is edgy and as expected, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trying to figure out who is the heir of Slytherin.

The entire original cast is back and they all did a fantastic job. There are some new characters introduced, such Kenneth Branagh as the self-absorbed, “all-knowing” wizard Gilderoy Lockhart and Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy. I have to admit, Isaacs was pretty good at a being a villain. But, he was not as good as our man Alan Rickman.

It’s been a year since I saw a movie that Alan Rickman was in so this is certainly a treat, regardless of the movie’s running time. Rickman’s portrayal of Professor Snape was brilliant. He did not have as much screen time as us Rickmanista would like, however, I think he dominated every scene he was in. His silky voice and his elegant moves were worth it all. The BEST scene with Rickman is his dual with Branagh. The power that man commanded in that scene reminded me why we love him for being so good at being “bad.” You don’t want to miss this!

photo courtesy of Patricia

Manuela's Review
November 14, 2002

Just a short time after "Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone" the releasedates for "The Chamber of Secrets" were announced, and I was sure, I would watch it a few times; with my husband, then with my children and –if possible- in the Original Version again. For Germany the date was set for Nov. 21 and the day was red-crossed in my calendar long ago. But the year offered the one or other surprise; release date was changed to Nov. 14, and our local cinema offered a "Harry Potter-Night" - showing both the films! Show time was Nov. 13 at 20:30h in the "XL"-theatre No.1, and of course I bought tickets!

We arrived at cinema 20 minutes early, expecting a delay by a lot of advertising; as a matter of fact the HP-1 started 21:30h and the curtain closed 0:00h. So far so good. A short break (if you call 30min. short when you’re getting more and more tired), the curtain opened again, applause and….
…Er, yes!? Confusion all around. No advertising again (what a relief!), but also not what one expected to open the film. There was Harry’s face on the screen, indeed, somewhere in Knockturn Alley, but it was upside down and the film was running backwards! The boy in the projector-room had a hurry to correct it; three minutes later… still upside down! Great! The curtain closed again, and we could observe the boy and a colleague making a fuss with the film and the projector. Nearly 20 minutes later the boy barely escaped his late night-chance to be murdered by the crowd – they had the nerve to show a preview of Hugh Grant’s and Sandra Bullock’s new film!

Yes, they were right, saying "The Chamber of Secrets" would be an adventure! It already was without seeing anything! Sorry, to bother you with such trivia, but after a bit sleep I found it funny… … and nevertheless we got compensated with the film.

Like the first movie "COS" had to balance a lot of necessary but endurable cuts. So landed Petunia’s marvelous pudding on Mrs. Mason’s head, and Uncle Vernon had a brilliant touchdown in the garden, by trying to prevent Harry’s escape and falling out of the window.
The "Burrow" is a funny thing! A comfortable, cuddly house – reflecting the family’s heart – and somebody’s heart and great love for detail. I really had loved to stay longer ! So Harry reached Knockturn Alley by Floo Powder, rescued by Hagrid, welcomed by Hermione in Diagon Alley and led to Lockhart and the new "bad-but-sweet-boy" Lucius Malfoy. Pity – no fight at Flourish and Blotts! The flying Ford Anglia and the touchdown in the Whomping Willow were exciting, because the screen was softly bowed and you had a 3D-effect; that was roller-coaster at its best! - also Quidditch later on! And then he appeared - for the first time… SNAPE !

In the Potionmaster’s office he threatened Harry and Ron to be banished from school, and I couldn’t remember a scene of the first film where Snape had such long lines to speak. And that went on! In the Dueling Club, for example. First he blew up Lockhart (Expelliarmus - Salto Mortale through the room) and he was so marvelous sneering, as just AR can be. Then he was surprisingly rough with Draco, when Harry managed to sent Malfoy to the floor, and we got another proof of his excellent gesture-talent. Indeed, there weren’t more lines for him to speak as the book offered; but they filled the scenes with more motion. Also if we couldn’t hear "his" voice – AR’s mimic art is worth the same! I really enjoyed him!

Goodness, there was so much, I could write my own novel about this movie… What else’s to say?

Of course I was very pleased with AR’s performance – just for his brilliant mimicry and gesture. I’ve really no choice than awarding him 5 hands! Good and bad things of the movie itself: where the first movie tried to keep up with the sequences of the book, the COS "jumps" a bit too much forwards and backwards. What were lovely creatures are Fawkes and Errol – that owl is too funny! But what I really didn’t like was the Basilisk; he looked more like a legless dragon than a snake!

Wallpaper courtesy of Darkwolf. Photos courtesy of Manuela and a music lover

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