Harry Potter: The Biggest Mistake Each Wizarding World Film Has Made
8. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets: Not Learning From The Previous Film's Mistakes
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is better than The Philosopher's Stone and it's, in general, a huge amount of fun thanks to the wondrous atmosphere, engaging mystery plot and excellent set-pieces. It's unfair that this is often seen as the worst Harry Potter film as some of the others are definitely weaker (more on that soon).
That being said, while The Chamber of Secrets is an improvement on the first film, there is one vital area in which it failed to upgrade upon its predecessor: style. This is, once again, just a filmed version of the book that's often unadventurous in terms of its script.
As a result, this feels like a missed opportunity. It really should've gone to a darker and more stylish place given that this is a story with overt horror elements. And, of course, it goes on Forever despite being based on one of the shortest HP books.
Another way in which it's similar to its predecessor (in the wrong sort of way) is that although the special effects are great, Chris Columbus' direction is fairly dull. He's been associated with quite a few beloved films (he also directed the first two Home Alone films and Mrs Doubtfire) but he's certainly never been the strongest of directors.
Still, the next film would see the series mature...