Cinema
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG)
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| The Pevensie children are back |
The fourth book (chronologically) of CS Lewis's epic fantasy series reunites the creative talents of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe for a titanic battle between the gentle Narnians and race of human usurpers called the Telmarines.
In every respect, Prince Caspian is a bigger and more ambitious adventure, introducing colourful new characters from the enchanted realm amid breathtaking battle sequences laden with computer-generated special effects.
The similarities to The Lord Of The Rings trilogy are even more pronounced here - both series are filmed on the North and South Island of New Zealand - including a tour-de-force denouement that strongly resembles JRR Tolkein's siege at Helm's Deep.
Director and co-writer Andrew Adamson draws heavily on earlier successes - Shrek and its sequel - to populate this rollicking romp with a menagerie of comical, larger than life creatures who are sure to delight younger audiences.
In particular, a dapper sword-wielding mouse called Reepicheep (drolly voiced by Eddie Izzard) is a mere cut and parry away from Puss In Boots.
Like the first film, the majestic lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) is the mane attraction of an action-packed second half, plus a fleeting return for another dominant character from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.
Prince Caspian begins at a canter - literally - with the titular heir to the Telmarine throne (Ben Barnes) fleeing his ancestral home on horseback in the dead of night to escape an assassination attempt orchestrated by despicable uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto).
The four Pevensie children - Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Hensley) - are summoned back to the magical kingdom from Second World War London and quickly become embroiled in the battle to overthrow the despot.
The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian confidently trumps its predecessor for thrills and intrigue, although it does lack a strong, boo-hiss villain like Tilda Swinton's Witch, despite some passionate glowering from Castellitto's power-monger.
Moseley, Popplewell, Keynes and Hensley snuggle back into their familiar roles, with hints of a romantic subplot for Lucy and Caspian, which can never come to fruition because as Lucy ruefully explains, "I am 1,300 years older than you."
Dashing newcomer Barnes is an attractive addition to the forces of good, capturing the internal conflict of his vengeance-seeking orphan, despite a shaky accent to align himself with his predominantly Spanish-speaking Telmarine co-stars.
Pacing rarely slackens so 144 minutes pass without any noticeable longueurs, building to a rousing finale that relies too heavily on the power of the visual effects teams' hard drives rather than characters' emotions.
Keep a tissue to hand for tearful farewells that set the scene for The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader in summer 2010.
12:29pm Friday 27th June 2008
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