Open up The Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets may seem slightly redundant to its predecessor and more than a tad predictable, but Harry Potter is magic. It doesn't have to follow the regular film rules and the regular movie criteria. Us ordinary people (muggles, if you will) can watch Harry Potter and see its defects, see its overwhelming number of tangent plot lines and overdrawn scenes, or we can watch it and feel just a bit more enchanted, just a bit more capable. Because that's what Harry Potter is truly about-- not being the perfect film, but rather simply being magical. Being mysterious and fantastical in some convincing way.

And the Chamber of Secrets more than succeeds in its basic, essential task: to leave the audience sitting, slightly stunned, and pondering, for just one moment, that childish question of whether or not magic really exists. Even if it doesn't in our mundane, muggle world, it exists for a fleeting three hours in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry Potter experiences adventure and life in a way few people can nowadays. Well, not many of us can hide entire caverns within a medium-sized building, after all. And few students can fly a car to school if they happen to miss the bus. Harry can, and therein lies his attraction. He represents everything that we can't do, that we'll never encounter, but that deep down, we really want to.

So onwards with the adventure! Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is, of course, at the center of it all, along with his two spunky friends Ronald Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). But before Harry can go back to his wizarding school, Hogwarts, and the escapades eagerly awaiting his return, he must first flee the oppressive home of his muggle aunt and uncle. Harry's been jailed inside his monotonous room ever since a mysterious house-elf named Dobby paid him an unexpected visit, warning him not to return to Hogwarts. The Dursleys were none too pleased when Dobby's antics, intended to persuade Harry to stay home, ruined their important business dinner.

It takes three redheaded Weasleys (Ron, with twin brothers Fred and George) and a flying car to retrieve Harry from his virtual prison, taking him to the safety of the magical Weasley home. This is a place where dishes clean themselves and clocks describe location— not your ordinary English countryside home. Soon Harry and Ron depart for school, only to face another complication when attempting to transfer from the muggle world to the wizarding world at platform nine and three-quarters.

Yet eventually, with the use of the trusty car, the two troublemakers find their way to Hogwarts and imminent detention. A number of additional odd occurrences mar Harry's second year, however, commencing during his first Quidditch match (a wizarding game), when a rogue bludger (a type of ball) attempts to knock him off his broom, and ending with the petrification of students. Petrifying, in case you have not read the books (infidel!), means stunning a person and leaving them as though dead, but with the possibility of magical revival.

And guess what? Harry, poor hapless Harry, somehow gets caught in the midst of it all. Shocking. Yet not everyone sees the little hero as exactly such; his notorious exploits have garnered him fame but also jealousy, and many students aren't so sure of his angelic characteristics. His suspicious locations and recurrent proximity to the crime scenes has many students questioning if "perfect" Harry might just be the purported troublemaker who has opened the "Chamber of Secrets" and caused all the Hogwarts difficulties.

Okay, I admit, the plot's both predictable and typical, with little in the way of novel ideology or situations to present. But this is a children's story. It's not supposed to be the next Snatch, with convoluted plot lines terminating in a giant surprise ending. No, this story is intended as a sparkle-coated moralistic role model for children to follow. It's meant to be educational in an interesting, yet not necessarily shockingly new, way.

Of course Harry's going to save the day. Of course he and his friends are going to face off with the same typically evil wizards as they did in the last film. So what? So shun a film on the basis of a few stereotypes, a few clichés?

Obviously I'm going to say no. The cast is as lively and surprisingly convincing as in Sorcerer's Stone, with the lead trio practically bursting with youthful energy. J.K. Rowling's interspersed magical novelties are always entertaining and fascinating, leaving viewers awed at her masterful imagination.

But there's nothing Harry Potter achieves as well as a feel-good finish. The vibrancy and community of Hogwarts is tangibly thick; it hangs forgotten in the still air long after the fairy tale ending. With dangling half-smiles hanging unconsciously on viewers' faces and a theatre still ringing with good-natured applause, Harry Potter remains just what it sets out to be: a slightly idealistic children's novel. And that's enough.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 115 min, Warner Bros., is playing in theatres everywhere and is rated PG for scary moments, creature violence, and mild language. harrypotter.warnerbros.com.