Narnia sequel the land of bland
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" celebrates the return of the whitest, blandest ensemble of young heroes ever to appear in a studio special-effects fantasy.
The four Pevensie siblings -- Peter, Susan, Edmund and little Lucy in age order -- return to the magical land of Narnia after saving the fairy-tale world in the 2005 adventure "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
The same cast members -- respectively William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley -- are older now, but together still possess all the charisma of an oak tree in winter.
More Coverage Video 'Prince Caspian' review
Despite the more physical demands put on them by this virtual nonstop war movie, none of the main actors appears to have improved any physical abilities. So when newcomer Ben Barnes shows up as handsome Prince Caspian -- charismatic as all get-out and moving with the grace and power of a real action hero -- his sheer presence mops the castle floors with his co-stars.
For the Pevensies, a mere year has passed since they gave up their crowns and weapons of fast destruction (given by Father Christmas!) to be regular students in 20th-century London.
When a distress signal summons them, the Pevensies line up on a train platform and are magically whisked back to Narnia. When they arrive, 1,500 years have passed in Narnian time. (Take that, "Brigadoon"!)
They are shocked to learn that the Narnians have been forced into hiding by the merciless, war-loving Telamarines. Young Caspian is next in line to rule them as king, except his evil uncle Lord Miraz (Italian heavy Sergio Castellitto) has made arrangements to have him killed.
Caspian evades assassins by entering the Narnian forest, where the resident creatures (talking badgers, centaurs, fencing mice, happy bears and others) want to bash his head in. Caspian delivers a rousing speech worthy of Henry V to unite the Narnian nation behind him, and it only takes a couple of minutes.
Meanwhile, the Pevensie sibs locate their old crowns, armor and weapons, then set out with a Narnian dwarf named Trumpkin (a sly, comical performance by Peter Dinklage) and Caspian to take back the land, while their old friend, the CGI lion Aslan, has apparently disappeared just when they need him most.
This sequel, directed again by "Shrek" director Andrew Adamson, amounts to a special-effects-crammed war movie where the emphasis is on constant action and surprisingly graphic violence for a PG-rated fantasy.
The extensive combat scenes never bore with their constant CGI-eyeball assaults, but Adamson pays for this by reducing his main characters to attractive chess pieces to be moved around the battlefield.
Like the original "Narnia," "Prince Caspian" comes from the popular book series by C.S. Lewis, who created the stories as thinly disguised Christian narratives with Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson with a bad case of radio-broadcaster-itis) representing the biblical king of kings.
Actually, Adamson's movie is more akin to an ancient Greek tragedy when it invokes a classic deus ex-machina, a dramatic device where a deity appears at the last minute and magically fixes everything up nice and tidy.
The ending isn't the only part of "Caspian" that feels artificially created for effect. Take the scene where a charging bear tries to eat Lucy, and archer Susan draws her bow but doesn't let her arrow fly. So, Trumpkin kills the bear with his.
"Why didn't he stop?" Susan wonders out loud.
Here's a better question, Susan. Why didn't you protect your sister and just shoot the bear?
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"
Rating: 2 stars
Starring: William Moseley, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes and Anna Popplewell.
Directed by: Andrew Adamson.
Other: A Walt Disney Pictures release. Rated PG. 144 minutes.