Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is my least favorite of the series yet it’s still entertaining with a compelling enough mystery surrounding the plot and it was nice seeing the young cast becoming comfortable in their respective roles while the addition of Kenneth Branagh gives the darker tone, compared to Sorcerer’s Stone, some levity.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
(2002)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Adventure, Drama
Warner Bros. | PG – 161 min. / 174 min. – $44.95 | November 4, 2017
Date Published: 11/19/2017 | Author: The Movieman
“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K UHD I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.”
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
Plot Synopsis: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets finds young wizard Harry Potter (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) and his friends, Ron (RUPERT GRINT) and Hermione (WMMA WATSON), facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they try to discover a dark force that is terrorizing the school. Quick Hit Review: This second entry is perhaps my least favorite of the 8 films, not because of the cast as it would seem Radcliffe, Grint and, to a lesser extent Watson (since she spends a fair amount of the third act petrified), have grown into their respective roles. Instead, this to me was a tad too long clocking in at around 2 hours and 40 minutes. Still, the film has a lot of fun to it including the newest defense against the dark arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, a media and attention whore as portrayed brilliantly by Kenneth Branagh soaking up the part so well. Chris Columbus returns to the director’s chair and at the very least Chamber of Secrets is a dark turn for the mostly light-hearted filmmaker and on that front, I do appreciate the darker aesthetics especially now that the world has been further developed and the franchise gets more into Lord Voldemort. In the end, while I didn’t care for this entry into the franchise, no doubt there is some entertainment value and seeing the young cast grow into their own really makes it enjoyable even if the running time could’ve been streamlined a bit more, as it is, not at all terrible viewing experience, this probably being my third time. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5 |
This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Disc 1 (4K UHD): Disc 2 (BD Movie): In-Movie Experience – Director Chris Columbus offers his insights into entering the world and delves into the casting and how certain scenes were shot all with some picture-and-picture images. Disc 3 (Bonus Features): Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Revealed (13:02; SD) was probably some TV special that aired back in 2002. Additional Footage:
Trailers & TV Spots:
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VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets onto the 4K UHD format presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p HD transfer (HEVC / H.265 codec). Looking at this, it pretty much is similar to Sorcerer’s Stone as detail was generally sharp throughout and colors do have a decent amount of pop to them while blacks are deep without appearing crushed or exaggerated. |
AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
Getting an upgrade from DTS-HD MA 6.1 track is the DTS:X which amplifies the audio to an extra couple of channels. Dialogue levels are crisp and clean from the center channel as the fronts and rears speakers help intensify the various action sequences giving off excellent depth. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
Overall, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is my least favorite of the series yet it’s still entertaining with a compelling enough mystery surrounding the plot and it was nice seeing the young cast becoming comfortable in their respective roles while the addition of Kenneth Branagh gives the darker tone, compared to Sorcerer’s Stone, some levity. This 4K release by Warner offers good/great video and audio transfers and a good selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.