March 7, 2008
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Youngsters who worship the bestselling work of fantasy author JK Rowling will find this sequel to The Philosopher’s Stone even more to their taste. The mood is darker and more scary, but adventure tinged with danger has always been attractive to children. Here, predatory spiders stalk Harry through the Forbidden Forest, there’s a mandrake root with an ear-splitting scream and Harry (an audibly older Daniel Radcliffe) even exchanges a kiss with Hermione (Emma Watson). Director Chris Columbus (again working from a screenplay by Steve Kloves) has allowed some mechanical repetition to creep in, but overall this manages to be ingenious as well as faithful to its source. Of the adult performers, Kenneth Branagh stands out as the egotistical new teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, managing to upstage even the special effects, but, sadly, the character of Dumbledore (Richard Harris) is mostly lost within the convolutions of the plot.
Tag: blockbuster