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It’s still got a giant murderous snake that lives in the walls (Basilisky business), exciting Quidditch matches, the kids are still at that adorable stage, and the perfect casting of Kenneth Branagh as the entirely inept Professor Gilderoy Lockhart is a glowing example of the British talent commanded by the franchise.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets isn’t quite T (for Troll) though. There's magic here but with stabilisers on. He might now be in charge of a Five Nights at Freddy’s adaptation and be responsible for Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire, but Columbus’ slavish silver screen Potter attempts manage to make the source material oddly paint by numbers. Despite paving the way for the rest of the movies, you can probably already see that Chris Columbus’ debut adaptations aren't doing particularly well in our list of the best Harry Potter movies.
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