Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I'm of a double mind about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. To be fair, I may be of a triple or quadruple mind. My inner child, which went to see the movie with my sons on opening weekend, enjoyed it without reservation. But my inner critic began a running monologue as soon as I walked out of the movie theater. As a piece of movie magic, Chamber of Secrets has everything going for it, but this adaptation of J.K. Rowling's wildly successful second novel doesn't quite escape sophomore slump.
The Harry Potter franchise appeals to an incredibly diverse audience by taking some of the most popular literary archetypes and breathing new life into them. There's the young hero, orphaned and abandoned, who comes to learn of his magical heritage and emerging powers. There are his friends, the poor yet loyal and courageous best friend and the common yet clever and vivacious female foil. Kindly teachers and mentors provide education to counter the jealousies and manipulations of enemies both banal and deadly. At this stage, Harry Potter is still a child, so desire rarely factors into his world and, when it does, it's generally menacing; the overtly sexy characters are either silly or dangerous. …