 --- Harry Potter: The Complete Collection Years 1-7 (8-Disc 8-Film Set) --- Cars fly, trees fight back and a mysterious elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of the second year of his amazing journey into the world of wizardry. This year at Hogwarts, spiders talk, letters scold and Harry's own unsettling ability to speak to snakes turns his friends against him. From dueling clubs to rogue Bludgers, it's a year of adventure and danger when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron and Hermione's magical abilities and courage in this spellbinding adaptation of J.K. Rowling's second book. Get ready to be amused and petrified as Harry Potter shows he's more than a wizard, he's a hero! Storyline: Forced to spend his summer holidays with his muggle relations, Harry Potter gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor: Dobby the house-elf, who warns Harry Potter against returning to Hogwarts, for terrible things are going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby's warning and continues with his pre-arranged schedule. But at Hogwarts, strange and terrible things are indeed happening: Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on his/her guard - "The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware" . Written by Soumitra Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Greg Maltz on December 17, 2007 -- How confusing. After the Blu-ray version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix proved itself a technical knockout and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone appeared lackluster, I had no idea what to expect from the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets BD. Thanks to Warner, Harry's second year at Hogwart's appears in stunning detail and clarity, with excellent sound quality as well. The acting, especially from Harry himself, is also an improvement, with a bit more emotion and passion shown from young Daniel Radcliffe. The plot and effects are also handled in a more engaging way, and the saga starts to hit its stride. Chamber of Secrets kicks into high gear when Harry is visited by Dobby, a troubled house elf who warns the young wizard not to return to Hogwarts because of a mortal threat. After the elf gets Harry into trouble with his abominable aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley (Fiona Shaw and Richard Griffiths), Harry is locked in his room with bars installed on the windows. But Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) rescues Harry in a flying car. At Hogwarts, they are reunited with Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris), friend Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and the rest of the students and faculty. Harry soon realizes that the elf was not bluffing. A menacing force is emerging from within Hogwarts itself. Together, Harry, Ron and Hermione must use their resourcefulness and burgeoning magic skills to pursue a series of clues. Some lead into the darkest of places, including a nest of giant spiders in the middle of the forest. Eventually, Harry unlocks the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, but can he defeat the evil that lies within it? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a step up from The Sorcerer's Stone in every way. It does not live up to the intensity and quality of what would come later, but it gets an easy recommendation for adolescent audiences and for adults who want to see a good screen adaptation of an imaginative story. The technical merits of the Blu-ray are strong, although one wonders how much more fulfilling they could be if Warner fully capitalized on the advantages of the format. Cast Notes: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon Dursley), Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia Dursley), Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley), Toby Jones (Dobby the House Elf [voice]), Jim Norton (Mr. Mason), Veronica Clifford (Mrs. Mason), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), Julie Walters (Molly Weasley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley), Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley). IMDb Rating (07/24/14): 7.3/10 from 298,503 users IMDb Rating (11/21/09): 7.2/10 from 109,966 users
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