The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

A cinematic return to Narnia, with many of the same people both in front of and behind the cameras, Prince Caspian both benefits and suffers from the fact that it's not just the first film all over again. It's good to visit Narnia for a tale that isn't as familiar (to those who haven't read the books anyway), but it's also not so good when you realise that the tale being told this time around, well, it's just not quite as enjoyable.

Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are once again transported to Narnia, this time called by a magical horn, unbeknownst to them. Over a thousand years have passed since they were last in that world, although it has only been about a year in their own time, and much has changed. There has been division and war, and there's currently a young man (the titular prince) who may improve the situation, if he is kept alive long enough to ascend to the throne.

As well as the Pevensie siblings returning to our screens, we also get some more screentime for Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson again) and the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). But it's the new characters who make the strongest impressions. Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis are two Narnian dwarves, with the former getting almost as much screentime as any of the other leads, Eddie Izzard is the voice of a swashbuckling mouse named Reepicheep, and Ken Stott voices a knowledgeable badger named Trufflehunter.

Everyone onscreen does well enough, with most of the younger cast members slightly improved compared to their previous work. Ben Barnes is Prince Caspian, and manages to portray his character as a good man without ever becoming annoying pious, and his main enemies are played well by Sergio Castellitto, playing his character of King Miraz in over-the-top pure villain mode, and Pierfrancesco Favino (who plays a General to the King, torn between duty and considering how to play out events in a way that will allow him an escape).

Director Andrew Adamson does well enough at the helm, once again, but his best work is done in the script department, once again alongside Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. This feels like a more mature work than The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, yet it is all put together in a nicely uncomplicated, but also unpatronising, way. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it is as consistently entertaining as it could be. From the very opening scenes through to the finale, there's always the sense that viewers should be caring more about the events unfolding onscreen. A little bit of restructuring would have helped to improve this, perhaps starting with the Pevensies being whisked back to Narnia and letting viewers discover the changes and dangers of the world that was once very familiar to them at the same time as the main characters.

And, as a recurring way to end these Narnia-focused reviews, can we all just agree that Aslan is a Superlion who could always help everyone a lot sooner than he does? Bloody poser, just waiting for his big moment in the finale to save the day and then pretend it was a close call.*

*Yes, I plan on also ending my next review with this statement.

6/10

You can buy the boxset here.
Americans can get the movies here.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005)

Like so many others of my generation, and anyone slightly younger who caught it on repeats or VHS/DVD, the BBC adaptation of The Chronicles Of Narnia retains a special place in my heart. I recently bought the boxset, although I haven't been brave enough to revisit it yet. Whatever you think of various aspects of it (the religious allegory running through it, how irritating the kids can be, how it struggles to remain exciting whenever the White Witch is offscreen), there's no denying that The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is a classic fantasy tale for children of all ages. Which makes it unsurprising that it got the cinematic treatment at a time when so many companies were desperate to find "the next Harry Potter". I'm just surprised that it took so long.

I'm also surprised that it was this weak, although perhaps that is more to do with the inherent flaws of the source material.

The story may be well known, but I'll recap it anyway. Siblings Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) are all bundled off during wartime to live in a large house in the country. While playing a game of hide and seek one day, Lucy hides in a wardrobe, stepping further back into the depths of it until she ends up in the magical land of Narnia. Nobody else believes her, of course, when she finds her way back to wartime Britain, but it's only a matter of time until they all end up in the wardrobe, and all end up in Narnia. They find themselves in danger, thanks to a prophecy that means the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) wants them killed, but all might be well, thanks to the magical Aslan (a lion, voiced by Liam Neeson) and his army of friendly creatures willing to defy the will of the White Witch.

In terms of production value and design, there's nothing wrong with this movie. Pacing issues aside, it has a runtime of just over two and a quarter hours, everything is in place for what should be a wonderful fantasy adventure.

Director Andrew Adamson, who delivered a lot of fun with the first two Shrek movies, should have been an easy fit for the material. He also helps adapt the C. S. Lewis book, alongside Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely. Which may be where things first went awry. You see, there's a feeling throughout this movie that nobody wants to be responsible for messing it up, either due to reverence for the source material or the responsibility of setting up a potential franchise, or both. The spectacle and adventure is there, the sense of fun is not.

It's also not helped by the fact that almost every child actor is eminently slappable. No offence to those playing the main roles, it's the way they are written (although the younger two, played by Henley and Keynes make it a bit worse with some added precociousness). The older cast members all do great work. James McAvoy is a lovely Mr. Tumnus, Tilda Swinton is superbly fierce as the White Witch, and memorable voice performances are delivered by Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Rupert Everett and, of course, Liam Neeson (lending his timbre and gravitas to the role of the mighty Aslan).

Perhaps the biggest problems with The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe are twofold, the flaws inherent in the source material and the fact that many other movies from the past couple of decades did this kind of grand adventure much better. There's nothing here that is bad enough to make it unwatchable. It's just all quite perfunctory, when it should have used the bloated runtime to revel in an excess of memorable characters and visions.

Also, a problem with both this and the sequels, can we all just agree that Aslan is a Superlion who could always help everyone a lot sooner than he does? Bloody poser, just waiting for his big moment in the finale to save the day and then pretend it was a close call.

6/10

You can buy the boxset here.
Americans can get the movies here.

Ani-MAY-tion Month: Shrek (2001)

The joy of Shrek may have been diluted slightly nowadays, after multiple sequels and spin-offs, but I'm still a fan of most things that feature the big green ogre at the centre of events, and the first film remains the best of the lot.

Based on a book by William Steig, Shrek is, for anyone who doesn't know, all about the titular ogre (voiced by Mike Myers). He likes to live alone in his swamp, but that isolated existence is threatened when a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy) bumps into him while fleeing from armed guards. That isolated existence is threatened even further when numerous fairytale creatures start to fill up his home, due to it being the one safe haven. The nasty Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) doesn't like fairytale creatures, and has been causing them no end of problems. When Shrek visits Farquaad to sort out getting his swamp back to himself, he ends up being tasked to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). If he does that then Farquaad will ensure that the swamp is back to how Shrek likes it.

It took a lot of people to craft this script - including Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S. H. Schulman - but the end result is a wealth of great gags and sly references, as opposed to a bloated mess. The twisted fairytale may be overdone nowadays, but it's rarely been utilised to better effect than it is here, with the whole premise of Prince Charming rescuing the trapped Princess turned gleefully on its head.

Directors Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson do a great job of keeping everything perfectly paced and perfectly balanced. There may be a number of audio and visual gags aimed more at adults than the younger viewers, but they stay just the right side of cheeky, and there's never anything done that spoils the experience for the target demographic.

Myers, putting on a sorta-Scottish accent, makes Shrek an ogre that it's fun to hang around with. He's very childish, which obviously makes him appealing to children, and as the movie progresses we get to learn that ogres can be layered (like an onion, but not necessarily like a parfait). Murphy has his best role in years, as the cute, chatterbox Donkey, Diaz is a good match to play Princess Fiona, and Lithgow is a lot of fun as the diminutive Lord Farquaad.

There's a lot in this movie that people could choose to either love or hate - the accent that Myers uses, the standard selection of child-friendly tunes (All Star by Smash Mouth again??), the ending that rounds up some characters for a bit of a song and dance sequence. I loved it when I saw it at the cinema, and I still love it now.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Shrek-Whole-Story-Forever-Blu-ray/dp/B0046A9RMC/ref=sr_1_6?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1399983784&sr=1-6&keywords=shrek

Don't forget, every copy of my book sold gets a few pounds in my pocket, and gets you a good read (if I say so myself).

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.