 The story is pretty much faithful to JK Rowling's book, but some fans may be a little disappointed that many details of the book have been condensed to fit the film. That said, the film runs at 2 ½ hours, and the compression, or cutting of material was probably unavoidable or else the audience would be in historical epic country which would have been box office suicide. Columbus and screenwriter Stephen Kloves have tried to keep the core of the story in tact and tried to include as much of the characterisation and observations as possible, and on the whole they have succeeded. As a result, the film is faithful to the story and well paced, juxtaposing the narrative and action elements of the story well (I will admit as a huge fan I would have stayed glued for at least another two hours). The look of the film is fabulous, with Columbus and cinematographer John Seale flawlessly combining the magical world with the everyday one. You could really believe that magical places like Diagon Alley could exist under our very noses. One of the main fears when the film was announced was that the story would be 'Americanised'. Thankfully there are no vomit-inducing, syrupy brats in sight. Radcliffe is refreshingly sweet as Harry, the utter niceness of his character is made believable with a streak of pathos which prevents him from becoming cloying. His closest friends: the grinningly awkward Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and the bossy know-it-all, but fiercely loyal Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) are a delight. And newcomers Grint and Watson often threaten to steal the show. They are joined by a host of magical characters played by some of the crème de la crème of British acting talent. Alan Rickman attacks his role of the slimy Professor Snape with gusto and will remind everyone of 'that' teacher they hated at school. John Cleese appears -literally as Nearly Headless Nick, Gryffindor house's resident ghost. The effects are first rate, as you would expect from Industrial Light and Magic, invisibility cloaks, giant three-headed dogs, mountain trolls and baby dragons become real. Some of the action scenes are jaw-droppingly excellent, the Quidditch match, in particular, is superb and will make you sorry that it is not actually a real sport in our world. Hogwarts is a character all on its own, replete with constantly changing staircases (because they like to), animated paintings, sprawling gothic architecture and the magnificent Great Hall with its floating candles and enchanted ceiling that reflect the outside sky. Add to this a spellbinding score by John Williams and you have a potion that just cannot fail and will leave audiences screaming for more. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is shooting now with a proposed release date November 2002, it just cannot come quick enough. * Visit the official Harry Potter website here | 
