Harry Potter returns to the wizard school Hogwarts for his second year of schooling, along with his friends Ron and Hermione. But danger’s afoot for the boy wizard. Before the start of his second year, Harry is visited by a House Elf named Dobby. Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts, but of course Harry doesn’t heed his warning. Besides, he must escape from the clutches of his cruel, nasty adoptive family.

So Harry’s busted out from his imprisoned bedroom by Ron and his brothers in their flying car. It occurs to me here that this is a movie that might be just a little bit far out and trippy if viewed while under an influence not quite the same as reality. Ron’s flying car takes the boys back to their family’s house; unlike Harry’s adoptive parents, Ron’s parents are both magical practitioners; purebred magicians, if you will. It is with the Weasley family that Harry returns to the school.

But alas and alack! Ron and Harry miss the train back to Hogwarts! Ah, the flying car; that’ll do, that’ll do. Naturally, they almost crash into the train with the car, and actually do crash into a particularly nasty gigantic tree on the grounds of Hogwarts. Eats cars, you know.

That’s just the beginning, though. The boys, joined by their friend Hermione, learn that people are being petrified for no discernable reason at Hogwarts. Who’s to blame? Is it Snape, the professor with an obvious disdain for Harry? Is it Malfoy, the slicked-back blonde bully? Or is it the newest professor, Gilderoy Lockhart? The early evidence points to Harry, of course, and Hagrid, the Gamekeeper.

Harry and his pals must follow the sometimes obscure clues to find out who’s responsible for this skullduggery. What’s worse, the headmaster, Professor Dumbeldore, is under pressure to find the culprit. And for some reason, there’s this creepy whispering voice traveling through the halls of Hogwarts that only Harry can hear – and, for some reason, he can now talk to snakes? Does all of this tie in together, somehow?

Well, of course it does. The appeal isn’t the end result, it’s the journey. This is about as good as the first Harry Potter movie, full of the same mystical charm, although the kids are growing up a bit (the boys in particular are hitting puberty, what with their deepening voices and all). I haven’t read the books, but from what I’m told the movie follows the second book rather closely.

A real treat for sure is seeing all of the veddy excellent veteran British actors in the cast: Kenneth Branagh, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Alan Rickman, Miriam Margolyes, and Richard Griffiths.

The Chamber of Secrets is about what you’d expect from a Harry Potter movie; it has style, substance, verve, and audacity. The latter is because the movie dares to be as good as the original, if not better. All too often the sequel to a hit movie tries to rest on the laurels of the first film, not venturing out on its own. While it’s evident that Chamber of Secrets is part of a series, it’s also an excellent standalone movie.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is rated PG for “scary moments”; in fact, there are some gross ones, as well. Which means your kids’ll love it! The movie is 161 minutes long, so stock up on the popcorn.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: ***1/2