Why Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Is My Favourite Movie of the Franchise

Wingardium Leviosa! Expecto Patronum! Expelliarmus! Welcome Potheads! I mean Potterheads! Coming out all the way back in 2001, I was 9 years old when Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone first released and grew up watching them until I was 19. 10 years it took for all 8 films to be made and released and I can genuinely say that they are a fond part of my childhood and youth. I have just re-watched the octalogy and am also coincidentally re-reading the novels. For some reason that boggles me, Chamber of Secrets is people’s least favourite of the franchise when it comes to the films, I don’t know about the books. Why though? According to overall answers on Google, it’s because it’s slow and long and inconsistent between tones. Wah, wah. You may call me childish but I’m glad I don’t have an overly critical mind. If people are put off from things like the length, pace, and inconsistent tones for every movie they watch, it must not be very enjoyable to watch movies. This being said, let us delve into why Harry Potter 2 is my favourite movie of series.

To truly appreciate Chamber of Secrets, one must watch Harry Potter 1. The one that started it all and set the magical tone for the series although that tone slowly dissipated throughout the series. You can notice that the typefont for Harry Potter began yellow and then slowly became darker until it became dull and grey. Had more Harry Potter films released I’m sure the typefont would have been black. The first Harry Potter set a tone that was magical, not necessarily lighthearted, but definitely aimed towards pre-teens. It’s a prime specimen of a child-oriented piece of art that anyone who began watching it as a child will fondly look back to it with nostalgic mania. While it has it’s darker parts (troll, Fluffy, screaming book, and the back of Quirrell’s head) it’s not horror (though Voldemort in the back of Quirrell’s head is nightmare fuel). I suppose it’s because of the tone of the cinematography that makes it more kid-friendly horror. While Chamber of Secrets doesn’t necessarily go up a notch in horror tone, it is a notch darker certainly and more serious. The child actors are older and more mature, hence the enhancement in tone because of dealing with a more serious threat. In Philosopher’s Stone all they had to deal with was stopping one person from taking a magical artifact. In Chamber of Secrets they had to stop a monster from being released and killing Mudbloods. Potential murder was a real concern and then there was the fact that the threat became real real when Ginny was taken down into the Chamber.

Because I have just re-read the book, I can understand the complaints much better that the plot formula of the Chamber of Secrets is basically the same as the first- a whodunnit. It’s been done so it feels repetitive and boring. I say codswallop. Chamber of Secrets has much better scenes and much more thrilling suspense. The Dueling club scene, the Quidditch match with the rogue Bludger, Aragog’s scene, the Whomping Willow, hell even Lockhart added more because he had a more substantial role than Quirrell. The climax is definitely more engaging than the first. Malfoy is even more of a prick in this one. I love the tone. I just do. The creepiness. The suspense. The stakes. The addition of Lucius Malfoy. It’s the Philosopher’s Stone but more mature. Christopher Columbus, I mean Chris Columbus, upped the ante. The music isn’t as cheery and there’s an air of foreboding. The characters feel the horror.

I seem to be an odd fish out because people generally agree that Chamber of Secrets is the weakest film but it isn’t for me. Goblet of Fire is awesome and in terms of action and story, it has Chamber beat. But Chamber is my personal favourite. While I do like the darkness of Half-Blood Prince, it’s palate is way too grey. Depressing. The dragon scene alone is enough to put Goblet of Fire at number 1 but like I said, out of personal preference, Chamber wins. They’re all good. They are. The Harry Potter movies are consistent in that regard. My ranking would be 2, 4, 7, 6, 3/8, 5/1. The numbers with the slash in between mean they are ranked at the same level.

Well my friends, I have basically explained why Chamber of Secrets is my favourite in a nutshell, so without further ado I shall now disapparate. Toodles.