Another multi-gazillion-dollar Hollywood franchise, another chapter in the remarkable career of John Williams. Though he's already been responsible for scoring some of the most overwhelmingly successful film series of all time, in tackling the second installment of the Harry Potter saga, Williams once again proves why his name is held in such high regard in scoring circles. While he utilizes the themes he established in Sorcerer's Stone, Williams's restless inventiveness still manages to cast this chapter in a fresh new musical light. Since many of the cues here are action or atmospheric-oriented, and thus lacking in need for strong melodic hooks, the veteran composer's mastery of orchestral color--and no small amount of stylistic reinvention--infuses the proceedings with a sense of wholeness and a surprising maturity that's a key element in conjuring up the film's crucial suspension of disbelief. Harry Potter may be but a fictional wizard, but John Williams proves yet again he's the real thing.

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