R W
Posts: 268
Joined: 23/6/2006
|
Director: Andrew Adamson
Screenwriters: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Starring: Ben Barnes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Peter Dinklage, Sergio Castellitto
Synopsis
A year has passed since their first adventure and the Pevensies (Morseley, Popplewell, Keynes, McFeely) return to Narnia, realising that over a millennium has passed since the siblings left. When an evil king is determined to rule the land, the Pevensies and new alley Prince Caspian (Barnes) wages war in order to save Narnia.
Review
After the bizarre success of Shrek II, New Zealand director Andrew Adamson took started an adapted franchise of C.S. Lewis's fantasy saga. The first instalment, known as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first and best of a series of fantasy epics that try to be as powerful as Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.
Based on the second Narnia book that was published, even though it is the fourth chronologically, Prince Caspian is considered to be the first of a trilogy to explore the adventures of Caspian X, so we might be expected adaptations of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Michael Apted as director) and The Silver Chair.
The first half of the film is somewhat familiar to The Twin Towers, in which there are multiple journeys about various characters. On the one hand, we have the Pevensies who are trying to discover why Narnia is a different place. And on the other hand, we have a prince charming roaming around the woods, where he discovers talking animals, dwarves and a mouse voiced by Eddie Izzard.
The film never stops for character development or any emotional moments, as it expands the action sequences to create the spectacular. In the second half, things do get dark and yet there is still enough light for the family to enjoy. Whatever harsh stuff that Adamson provides, he still conceives this franchise as the light equivalent to LOTR.
However, as director, Adamson still wows us with some impressive action, such as the invasion sequence at King Miraz's castle. The visual effects have improved as they don't look like animation from a DreamWorks computer-animated film. With such incredibly long epic moments, including small dialogue scenes in between, you wished that the film was a little shorter.
Since the actors who played the Pevensies are three years older, their maturity makes them more convincing than they were going through wardrobes. This is perhaps the final entry at Narnia for actors William Moseley and Anna Popplewell. Ben Barnes as our new hero is perfectly fine as a young warrior who struggles with the consequences he has to face.
Many of the voice actors, who play the Narnians, are no longer a nuisance as they don't sound like identifiable British actors as that was a flaw in the previous film. The villains, who are the Telmarines has a strange Spanish influence, in the same way that the Magisterium from The Golden Compass that were inspired by the Russians. Dwarves are typical characters in the genre, but Peter Dinklage portrays his performance like a father figure, rather than a comedic role.
It is hard to say whether all of the Narnia novels will be adapted for the big screen, as they don't seem to be as successful as the Harry Potter films. But since the next film will be in the hands of a more interesting director, Narnia may still have a future.
Verdict
A sequel that is both light and dark, it manages to have the entertainment for families to enjoy.
|
Printable Version
Much more refined than LWW - 
4/5.
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread