Film review
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Dobby, the masochistic elf, makes his debut in "Chamber of Secrets."
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" starts off promisingly.
We are happily reunited with the characters we first met in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and we are introduced to some engaging new characters: The self-injurious elf Dobby, who warns Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) not to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, lest something bad befall him (Harry ignores the warning, of course); the hilariously self-absorbed new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh); mandrake roots, anthropomorphic plants that screech while they are being transplanted; and “Cornish pixies,” tiny, blue, winged, impish creatures reminiscent of the villains that "Chamber of Secrets" director Chris Columbus created for the film “Gremlins.”
We meet these new characters and witness Harry's rescue from his family of Muggles by his friend Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) in the Weasley family's flying car, a la "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," in the first half hour or so of the film, which is delightful. I found myself giggling and smiling like a kid at Disneyland, which is rare for this jaded Gen X’er.
But then the film gets bogged down in a plot line involving a snake motif and students who mysteriously are turning up in a petrified state. The unfolding story becomes tedious rather than more interesting, and way too much of the rest of the film takes place in a girls’ bathroom.
Worse, while Harry and Ron are trying to figure the whole mess out, our heroine Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), rather than taking part in the climactic action, is in a state of suspended animation. Even if it's that way in the book -- and I suspect that it is, as many critics are saying that the film is too slavish to the book, which I haven't read -- it's a waste of Hermione's character.
In the middle of all of this, the rivalry between Harry and his nemesis Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) escalates and we meet Draco's bleach-blond father, Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), who, unfortunately, steals too much of Draco's thunder.
By the time we finally discover who's behind the snake and the petrified students, we don't care much and we really have to pee, as "Chamber of Secrets" clocks in at more than two and a half hours.
The special effects in "Chamber of Secrets" are superior to those of "Sorcerer's Stone," which I found surprisingly cheesy, but hopefully director Alfonso Cuaron ("A Little Princess" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien"), who is directing the next "Harry Potter" installment, will keep the magic alive throughout the entire film.
My grade: B
12:29:21 PM 
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