Movie Review: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Synopsis: Harry Potter is looking forward to his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...until a strange little creature, Dobby the House-Elf, comes and tells him he must not go there, because terrible things await Harry if he goes.  Harry goes anyway, and finds out that a secret place at Hogwarts, called the Chamber of Secrets, has been opened...but, the teachers don't know who's responsible.  All evidence, however, seems to point to none other than Harry himself.  Harry and his friends know that he is innocent...but, the opening of the Chamber is putting the lives of his fellow students and faculty in danger.  Will he be able to discover who the culprit really is...before someone gets killed?
Based on the book by J.K. Rowling.

The Good: Just like with the previous entry in this series, I watched this film version alongside reading the original novel.  For the most part, it stays true to its source material; even though I knew the ending from watching this flick previously, I still found myself enthralled by the details of the story.  Profanities are kept to a minimum, and there's no sexual content.

The Bad: As was the case the first time around, quite a bit was left out in this celluloid adaptation.  Also, the violence was a bit edgier; without giving away plot details, I'll say that the climax was a bit bloody, and it was rather disturbing to see a message on a wall written in blood.

Conclusion: Better in some ways, not as good in others; that's how I feel about the second Harry Potter flick.  This franchise has legions of fans, and it's not hard to see why; still, I feel that the original novels are superior to the films...so far, at least.  Maybe my opinion might change when I get towards the end, where popular opinion says the books weren't as good.

Score: 3.5/5