Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -- January 2003

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HARRY POTTER?


Final Jeopardy Category: Mythical Creatures

Final Jeopardy Answer: (Remember that your answer must be in the form of a question.)

A legendary serpent or dragon with lethal breath and glance.


How many of you came up with the following?

What is a basilisk?


If you don’t know what a basilisk is, memorize the definition. It will come in handy for your understanding of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.


This is the second installment in the Harry Potter series and, for my money, a better offering than the first one. It has an entertaining story, good acting performances (including that of the late Richard Harris in his final role), many humorous moments, and a number of touching scenes. On the negative side, though, it’s violent and embraces the occult, and it contains a number of “Bloody H---“ epithets.


For those of you not familiar with the Harry Potter books and movies, here’s a thumbnail sketch: Harry is a young (12 or 13) English orphan forced to live with his nasty aunt, uncle, and cousin, who treat him little better than a slave. Fortunately, Harry has benefactors who rescue him from this miserable situation and reveal to him his own underlying magic powers. Having escaped from the clutches of his relatives, Harry attends the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Chamber of Secrets covers Harry’s second year at Hogwarts and has at least as many intriguing touches as the first installment did: an airborne car, an attacking tree, a diary one can communicate with, mandrake plants with wailing, shrieking roots, and a fun new character named Dobby the House Elf. It also has its repulsive moments, as when Harry’s friend Ron vomits live slugs. And those who aren’t fond of spiders need to be cautioned: there are lots of them, big and small.


When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone came out a year or so ago, there was considerable discussion as to whether the film was dangerous or immoral because it dealt with witchcraft and wizardry. That issue hasn’t gone away. The occult takes center stage, even if it’s a benign occult. While certainly not anti-Christian, the movie has no underlying Christian world view as does The Lord of the Rings. A more serious problem for me is the fact that The Chamber of Secrets lacks any real suspense. There’s a long, violent (and in my view tedious) battle with the basilisk, but there’s never any doubt that the basilisk is going to be vanquished and that the good guys are going to win out. Have you ever had the experience of seeing a movie you’d watched before but are afraid it won’t turn out as you want it to — that even though you know what’s going to happen, you’re still afraid the good guys won’t win? There’s none of that wonderful tension here.


Nonetheless, many of the characters display positive character traits that, while not explicitly Christian, coincide with Christian values such as loyalty and choosing correct paths. As Hogwarts Professor McGonagall says, “It is not our own abilities that make us what we are; it is our choices.” The scene with the healing powers of the phoenix’s tears is pure gold. I wouldn’t take anyone younger than ten to this movie, but folks older than that should have a good time with it -- as long as they don’t mind slugs and spiders.


Film Rating: PG
My Rating: 2 ¾ stars.