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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Chronicles...Prince Caspian

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#1 of 1 Posted 5/14/08 10:09 PM

From harveykarten Posts 798 Last Feb-7
To All [Msg # 23131.1 ]

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

Walt Disney Pictures
Reviewed for CompuServe by Harvey Karten
Grade: C+
Directed by: Andrew Adamson
Written By: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, book by C.S. Lewis
Cast: Ben Barnes, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Eddie Izzard, Warwick Davis, Georgie Henley
Screened at: AMC Empire, NYC, 5/12/08
Opens: May 16, 2008

The main reason that sequels are rarely as good as originals is that the novelty is gone. Audiences hunger for the new, the different: those of us who saw “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe “ and who hasn’t, will look not only for a continuation of the narrative but for visuals that set it apart from the first installment in 2005, which topped the $700 million mark in worldwide box office receipts. On the other hand, filmmakers can access the results of their originals, vetting audience responses, allowing them to tweak their emphases. In the case of “Prince Caspian,” which lacks the freshness of the first in the series, director Andrew Adams and his co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have made the sequel darker in tone.

Andrew Adamson, then, is back at the helm for this sequel which, though darker, may thrust the plot forward but does so at the expense of narrative: in other words, splendid visuals, deficient story interest. Where the Pevensie siblings entered the kingdom of Narnia, which existed 1300 years ago, via a wardrobe the first time around, this time they make a smooth transition from London’s Strand station. England is at war: soldiers are seen at the station. One might interpret all the adventures of the 1940’s quartet of kids as the products of their vivid imagination, given the stress of the early 1940’s.

As a train zips by, the four find themselves in Narnia. Three years senior to what they were in the first episode, the principals consist of the oldest and most courageous of the group, Peter (William Moseley); his kid brother, Edmund (Skandar Keynes); the cautious Susan (Anna Popplewell) and her kid sister, Lucy (Georgie Henley). The kingdom fo Narnia consists not only of human beings such as the wicked, usurping King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), his wife Prunaprismia (Alicia Borrachero), the king’s loyal general Glozelle (Pierfrancesco Favino), the prince-who-would-be king, Caspian (Ben Barnes) and a cynical dwarf, Trumpkin (Peter Dinklarge); but also talking animals such as Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson); a witch (Tilda Swinton); and a centaur (Cornell S. John). Prince Caspian has provided for the return of the sibs after he had left the castle upon hearing of a plot to assassinate him.

A good forty percent of the movie’s overlong time is spent on battles, getting bigger as time goes on with the exception of a one-on-one that was to determine who would ultimately wear the crown between the heroic Peter and King Miraz. (One wonders how any wounds could be inflicted at all, since the king and to some extent the young man wear metal armor covering their entire bodies.) Battle-wise, the picture shares a kinship with the “Lord of the Ring” series, particularly given the presence of an almost unrecognizable Peter Dinklage as a bearded, saturnine dwarf.

Tiresome battles aside, there is some fine acting. Ben Barnes, who is a decade older than he is set up to be, makes a stirring debut, barking out commands to his brother and sisters. Side roles are convincing, with Mr. John galloping about the castle as a centaur while Tilda Swinton comes out as a witch larger than life in a sheet of ice.

The picture is obviously expensive to make but will doubtless draw a profit, if the original is any example. Life within Narnia may be nasty, brutish and short but is altogether more appealing than it is in London during the blitz, a city depicted by a people going about their lives both by underground and by what are now vintage autos. Gas was cheaper than it is now.

“Prince Caspian” was filmed in New Zealand, Prague, the Barrandov Studios in Prague, Slovakia and Poland. (See my article entitled “Barrandov Back Lot: Why Hollywood Studios Love the Czech Republic” in the November 2007 issue of “Film Journal International”).

Rated PG. 145 minutes. © 2008 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online

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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Chronicles...Prince Caspian

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