Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Richard Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs

Directed by: Chris Columbus

So as I mentioned briefly in the Sorcerer's Stone review one of the best things Stone did was set up the franchise. Ideally a great first movie should be able to create a world, introduce you to all the major players, hint at potential future problems, and in the process tell a compelling story of it's own. If done correctly the sequel can begin with little to no explanation or reintroduction. All the information has been given so we're ready for the real fun to begin.

A few movies have done so successfully resulting in sequels that are better then the originals. Spiderman, X-men, even Shrek are examples of good movies that gave birth to even better sequels after getting all the set up out of the way.

Harry Potter is another, which is surprising considering how involved the mythology is. But Sorcerer's Stone gave a perfect set up, and we were able to return to Hogwarts knowing (on some level) what to expect.

The Basics of the story are the same. Harry is mistreated, he makes an escape from his family, he gets ready for school and he goes to school. But instead of going through the motions they get through this necessary story in a completely new way. Ron and his brother's break Harry out of his Aunt and Uncles home, he goes to Diagon alley via a magical fireplace spell instead of the secret wall in the tavern, and because they miss the train Ron and Harry end up taking the flying car to school.

It may sound like no big deal but to take the opportunity to introduce new ideas, new magic, and new wonders of the world, is awesome! It made the lead up to school bearable.

Chamber is another mystery with new suspects and a much darker delivery. The new cast members are brilliant as "could be" masterminds behind the mysterious events at Hogwarts. I especially liked the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Kenneth Branagh, and Malfoy's father Jason Isaacs. Branagh is vain and cocky, but still there's constant mystery around him. Enough to keep him on the short list of suspects. Issacs is brilliantly evil and even though he ends up not to be the big baddie behind it all, it's very cool to find out that he is partially involved.

The true evil of course ends up being the spirit of former student Tom Riddle via young Ginny Weasley. Making her the villain (even in a trance) was a great move because you're constantly looking for the heir of Slytherin, so you just count out all the Weasley kids right away. I NEVER suspected her when first seeing this. What's great is that they've got you looking everywhere else. Harry, Hagrid, every teacher in the place. I was analyzing them all. It would be one thing if they revealed the clues and it just didn't make sense or the clues were never really there for you to see. But it's there.

Everything except Tom Riddle being Voldemort. There wasn't one clue for that. Not that I saw, but really it's ok because it makes this part of the larger story, and it give Voldemort a face. A person we can connect him to instead of some big cape killing Harry's mom, or sucking on a Unicorn. It makes the threat real.

And he gets that much closer to coming back. It's part of what makes this movie darker and scarier (I mean besides the petrified cat, the writing on the wall with blood, the giant Spiders and the huge snake that turns you to stone ? if you're lucky!). In the Sorcerer's Stone Voldemort is a face on the back of some guy's head. You never think it's going to work! Here he gets a little closer. And that's freaky.

At the end of the Sorcerer's Stone Harry has to solve a series of riddles before getting to the end where he's met with sort of a lack luster fight. Chamber gives you just the opposite. Ron and Harry fall into the chamber and instead of facing a series of traps and puzzles that need solving, it's just a door that Harry has to lisp at. Then he goes in for the show down at the ho down.

The sequence is like 20 minutes long but it's great. Flawless effects, suspenseful and exciting with great camera work and imagination. And as Harry jams a sword through the basilisk's head you forget, for the 50th time since you sat down, that he's a 12-year-old boy. Seriously, he's twelve and he lips off to Malfoy's father at the end. I would have kicked those round frame right through his shaggy mop top.

The effects are a huge step forward. As much as I hate Dobby the house elf, he looks really good, and 9 out of 10 times he fits into the environment perfectly. I especially liked the effect of him vanishing. Not just because it looked great but also because Dobbey is more annoying then Jar Jar and ABBA combined. I'm so over people that talk in the third person. Joe can't handle it. The Basalisk himself is an even greater visual achievement. It looked like a combination of CGI and puppetry, but it worked really well, so I have nothing bad to say.

Compared to the first movie the effects are 100% better. The Quidditch match, which last time was just a big video game, now had the classic feel of the speeder battle in Jedi with the perfect effects to go along with it. Very cool.

Movie: 8.5 out of 10

A great follow up with enough action and mystery to keep you entertained for the entire 2 hours and 40 minutes. Even at that length it should still play pretty well for the kids because by the time they get to this point they're in love with the idea of Harry Potter. But do hold on tight during the dark forest scene. When that spider grabs Ron, someone in the room is freaking out. I promise.

Also it's really cool to see the kids growing up. You can see Radcliff get his acting chops in Stone, seriously what's with stuttering Potter in the first 20 minutes? I know the stuttering was probably in the script but I'm sure it didn't say anything about acting unnatural. My point is by the end of the movie he much better, and ready to take on the hefty material that follows. He, Grint and Watson really do a fine job.

DVD features

Just like Stone, its a 2-disk set with the bulk of the extras on the second disk. Disk one has the same features ? basic cast listing and the theatrical trailer, but they wisely add in a recap of the Sorcerer's Stone. It's only a minute and a half long, but it hits all the big points you need to know.

The second disk is a huge step up from the extras on Stone. No commentary which would have been awesome, but it seems they learned there lesson and decided to put some of those extra on set cameras to work. There are tons of little featurettes interviewing the stars showing photos and film from behind the scenes. Some of it is fluff, but a good bit was really interesting.

Other odds and ends include a pretty substantial DVD-rom section that's more then just screen savers and links to the official fan page. I was impressed with a "challenge" section where you go on these little trivia challenge to progress through different areas of the movie. For example you go to the chamber of secrets and have to answer 8 questions to gain access. When you do you can take a tour of the inside of the chamber. It was a great way to make something out of nothing. And while the games themselves play a little slowly, it's still nicely produced.

Stand outs

The best part of disk two hands down is the section called Behind Hogwarts. Here' you'll find the following: - A conversation with the author of the books J.K. Rowling and the screenwriter Steve Kloves. A great 15-minute interview where they discuss translating the books to the movie as well as underlying themes, and their favorite characters. Very much fun to watch, but another half hour would have been spectacular.

- Dumbeldore's Office. A brilliant featurette showing the stages of development in creating a scene. From sketches, to set production, to props, to lighting, to cinematography, to wardrobe, to music, to post production? we hear from the director, and the people that were hands on with each department. It's short, but very very cool.

- Characters Talk. Very brief interviews with nearly the entire cast asking each a series of short questions. It goes by fast but is nice. It looks like the kids were having a blast making these movies.

What's missing?

The only thing missing is the commentary. They did a bang up job upgrading the special features on this one. I'm eager to see what they did with Azkaban

DVD: 6 out of 10

There's tons of stuff to waste your time on here, including 19 deleted and extended scenes, which were just more support for the reveal at the end. Most of it won't be missed from the finished film, but it's fun to see them. Overall there's a lot to enjoy, but little you'll view a second time. DVD Worthy:

I actually do own this one, so I'll say yes. It's part of the Harry universe but I feel like it's much more of it's own adventure.

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying Harry Potter week. As today's strip says, neglecting your studies is nothing to laugh about. Vote today to see what affect no final exams has on a 37 year old Harry Potter. Stay in school!