5 Reasons Why The Chamber of Secrets is the Best Harry Potter Movie

After defeating Voldemort and Quirrel in the first movie, Harry must now continue to grow into his wizard self. In his second year at Hogwarts, Harry meets a house-elf, a self-obsessed author-turned-Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, learns to speak to snakes, duels with Malfoy on the Quidditch pitch and in the classroom, and falls prey to Colin Creevey's incessant fanboying.

More importantly, a new threat has descended upon the wizarding world: Voldemort has returned in the form of a memory. He is no longer attached to the back of Quirrel's head; instead, he's taking advantage of the young Ginny Weasley through the pages of his old diary. A Basilisk is set loose to wreak havoc on Hogwarts and petrify Muggleborns, leaving Harry and Ron to their own devices for a while.

Here are five reasons why the second film is the best in the Harry Potter series.

Tom Riddle

Voldemort is no longer a vague threat in this movie; he's real ... kind of. At least for some part of the film, he has his own body. He is no longer constrained to another body, which means he can do a lot more damage at Hogwarts. He frames Hagrid for a murder he didn't commit and makes many people question those they thought they could trust.

Viewers finally learn a little more about Harry's history, the history of Hogwarts and Dumbledore, and most importantly who Voldemort is as a young man. At this point, the threat is heightened but nobody knows the true extent of Tom Riddle's power.

More Magic

The first movie serves as an introduction to the wizarding world, and the second one expands on it. In The Chamber of Secrets, the history of magic, Hogwarts, and many of the characters are given much more depth. In addition, magic is utilized to progress the story more and create obstacles in Harry's path. However, it's also used to help the characters.

This is the first movie in which the characters use Polyjuice Potion (a very neat party trick). Dobby is the first character who is a magical creature, and he also offers some backstory on the Malfoy family. Of course, there's the Basilisk and Harry learning Parseltongue, meeting ghosts like Moaning Myrtle, and trying out new spells.

The Burrow

At the start of the movie, Harry is stuck at the Dursleys with seemingly no way out after Vernon puts bars on his window. Luckily, though, the Weasleys come and bust him out. Intro: the flying car.

Harry is then taken to the Weasley home: the Burrow. For the first time, the audience sees what a magical home looks like, and for the first time, Harry understands what a home and a family is. We get to know the Weasleys better and meet Arthur, as well as the family owl, Errol.

Stronger Friendships

In the first movie, Harry and Ron are somewhat reluctant to befriend Hermione, but by the second film, it's clear that they've grown closer. When she's petrified, the boys feel lost without her, especially after all the effort she's gone to helping them solve the mystery of the heir of Slytherin with the Polyjuice Potion.

Hagrid and Dumbledore are instrumental in helping Harry in his quest, leading him to Aragog and giving him the Sword of Gryffindor, respectively. And of course, Harry meets Dobby, which will prove to be a long-lasting and pure friendship.

Humour

Because the characters are still so young and the stakes haven't been raised too high, the film leaves a lot of room to keep things light. Even the trio's doubts about Hagrid's true identity become a moment of comic relief, as does Harry and Ron's escapade in the flying car.

Ron's broken wand is a recurring point of comedy throughout the film, as is his fear of spiders. There's also Lockhart and everyone's unwitting infatuation with him, which the boys find annoying - especially when they discover that he's a fraud.