Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

There was so much missing – and I'm not talking about huge sections that I understand must be excised because of expense & time; I mean the small touches like a dropped line of dialogue – that it was hard for me to appreciate what was there.

Ronald Weasley (Rupert Grint) can apparently only swing two facial expressions: fear and confusion. His best "acting" was done when in another body...and, come to think of it, that doesn't really count, does it?! But Hermione (Emma Watson) has really grown as a little actress. Gilderoy Lockhart was sorely (and sadly) underutilized. This sounds like a mountain of complaints but, really, it was enjoyable...just somehow less than it needed to be.

B-