2008 (UK / USA)
Director: Andrew Adamson
Viewed: March 30, 2010
Format: Netflix Instant Queue (via Playstation 3)
It was probably a foregone conclusion that the dreariest of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books would make for a much more schematic, lifeless film than director Adamson’s reverential but suitably vigorous The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This tale of a royal youth deprived of his rightful throne by a scheming nobleman is pure fantasy paint-by-numbers. Without the series’ talking animals—who remain its most charming trait, especially when placed alongside the dour mythological critters—and the parallel-world plot wrinkles, there wouldn’t be much to distinguish Prince Caspian from countless other epic sword-and-destiny outings. Adamson is doing his level best to give Disney their own Lord of the Rings, but neither he nor the source material is up to the task.  The Pevensie kids, who seemed so perfectly actualized in the previous film, now feel static and far less compelling. The most conspicuous problem is that neither the medium nor Adamson’s crude Jackson-cribbing approach provide much room for Lewis’ curious cosmology to unspool, and so we’re left a mildly entertaining and largely anonymous adventure… and not much else.
Tags: Adaptations, British Cinema, Fantasy, Franchises
[...]     On the cinema front I calmed down a bit from last week, but still managed to see four films in the dark: two in local multiplexes and two in Manhattan exclusives, and all with Lucille; two with the kids, and two with Broadway Bob. I saw: Breaking Upwards **** (IFC Film Center) Saturday night The Secret of Kells **** (IFC Film Center) Sunday afternoon The Clash of the Titans *** (Edgewater multiplex) Hot Tub Time Machine **  (Edgewater multiplex)      The week’s big surprise was the independent dramedy BREAKING UPWARDS, a kind of ‘mumblecore entry’ directed by the film’s star, Daryl Wein, and co-written by the female lead, Zoe Lister-Jones. An engaging after film Q & A moderated by Rein, Jones and well-known supporting player thespians Andrea Martin and Julie White. The film, shot on a shoe-budget for $15,000 on video, but appearing as if it were negotiated on real film, due to the color work of cinematography wizard Alex Bergman – talked about insightfully in the discussion – concerns the real-life relationship in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village of the two leads, one a writer, the other an actress, who decide to proceed with some drastic revisions. The film doesn’t say anything new about ‘angst’ but it’s still sharply detailed and insightful, even if the screenplay meanders a bit. It’s a promising debut for this talented group, and the Q & A was one of the best I’ve ever attended.     Marc Bauer’s review last week on the animated gem THE SECRET OF KELLS was pretty much dead-on as far as I’m concerned, and while I won’t put this in a category with Pixar’s UP and the recent HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, this is really a different animal altogether – it’s an intelligently-crafted, vibrant and stimulating film set in the medieval ages. It could have elaborated, but it’s a scant 75 or so minutes, yet it’s a thought-provoking work indepted to our most revered forms of artistry. An even higher rating is possible down the line, as I look forward to a second viewing. I found myself looking up ‘The Book of Kells’ this afternoon.    And then there’s THE CLASH OF THE TITANS, which seems to have (mostly) been ruthlessly mauled by critics, who again seem to expect a screenplay written by William Faulkner or Ernest Hemingway. It’s a film with a load of narrative problems, this is true, and it’s dull patches are excrutiating, but it boasts some splendid set pieces with stunning effects (the Medussa sequence near the end in the high point) and another interesting performance by Sam Worthington as demigod hero Perseus (who slays Medussa), and Liam Neeson as his father Zeus. This of course is a re-make of a popular original, but all things considered I’d say it’s passable. Finally, I saw HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, but I winsed at the overt sexual material in front of the kids, not realizing this was part of the presentation. A few funny moments for sure, but a hodgepodge of nothing, a lazyily written, disjointed and vulgar train wreck that is forgotten within an hour after you leave the theatre. It’s a practical ’stoner’ comedy about (again!) people who are bored with their lives. The film aims to wear you down, but never really takes hold, hence the ‘anything goes’ approach never connects here. Some of the Easter Sunday posts in the blogosphere are carry-overs, but I’ll do my best to post as many links as time will allow on this particularly hectic but joyous day, where I have actually managed to get away from the computer for some of the time. Dee Dee has a lead-in announcement of her planned interview with film editor Gilcrist Anderson, who worked on the restoration of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. It’s priceless stuff, and it’s all there will a you-tube clip at “Darkness Into Light”:                    http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-special-guest-for-this-month.html Tony d’Ambra has had a tremendous week at ‘Films.Noir.net’ where he posted a superlative review of Carne’s Hotel du Nord, and a fascinating post on the neo-realist-like condemnation of capitalism, Christ in Concrete, by Edward Dmytryk, which he reviewed months ago: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/christ-in-concrete-not-on-wall-street.html John Greco has written a great review of Dassin’s noir masterpiece, Night and the City, joining Tony d’Ambra and Dave Hicks, who have also written great pieces. As usual John examines the film from many angles: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/night-and-the-city-1950-jules-dassin/  Troy Olson, who soon will be embarking on a trip he’ll never forget to China, has the’mother of all posts’ up now at The Life and Times of Troy on his best films of 2009 in advance of WitD’s polling. It’s truly a magnificent accomplishment:                            http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2010/04/troys-best-movies-of-2009-fixed.html  Our revered colleague, the exceedingly gifted Joel Bocko is taking a brief respite, but he will return soon enough as he explains here: http://thesunsnotyellow.blogspot.com/2010/04/ill-be-back.html  Jon Lanthier has a two-and-one-half star review up at Slant, truncated at Aspiring Sellout of Breaking Upwards. As always, Jon is a tough evaluator, but he looks deeper than most, it’s that simple:    http://aspiringsellout.com/  T.S. of Screen Savour is back with a signature gem in the Keaton series on Stemboat Bill Jr. that needless to say is a must: http://www.screensavour.net/2010/04/steamboat-bill-jr-1928.html  Craig Kennedy’s perrenially popular Watercooler thread is up and running at LIC. It’s one of the net’s greatest meeting places: http://livingincinema.com/2010/04/04/happy-easter-from-lic-and-kyre-banorg/  Readying for the post-Easter return to writing stellar review of the pre-coders, Judy in the U.K. has announced a British Silent Film Festival, recently held:                    http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/the-13th-british-silent-film-festival/  Seemingly one of the internet’s best-kept secrets is blogger/critic Andrew Wyatt, a St. Louis based film buff, whose writing is brilliant, insights impeccable and “comments” top-rank. Anyone reading this week’s Lost Highway review by Jim Clark, will surely have noticed his spectacular contributions there (which are very-much appreciated here at WitD). His latest post is an excellent capsule on Prince Caspian at “Gateway”: http://gatewaycinephiles.com/2010/03/31/film-diary-the-chronicles-of-narnia-prince-caspian/  Dan Getahun’s newest post is truly ironic, as his plans to tie the knot are literally just around the corner. (we all wish this lovely man the best here at WitD!) His post appraises a local theatre’s classic fare: http://getafilm.blogspot.com/2010/04/get-hitched-in-minneapolis-this-april.html  Over at “Ferdy-on-Films” Marilyn Ferdinand has astutely examined with her descriptive flair a film by Bruno Dumont, titled Hadewijch, that is an essential read:       http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=3883  Individually, Ed Howard and Jason Bellamy are two of the internet’s premier film scholars. But in tandem, they are an incomparable team with some staggering performances at their monthly “Conversations.” For April, their itinerary is most appropriate: Comparing and contrasting Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” with Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” But dislike for the latter film has kept me away, but that’s a poor excuse. This is great stuff here:                                                                                                  http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2010/04/conversations-16-easter-double-feature.html  One of Europe’s most culturally driven mercenaries, Longman Oz, reports on an intriguing Irish Film festival of documentaries at hi shallowed halls (which recently won him a well-deserved award): http://noordinaryfool.com/2010/04/05/strangerthanfiction_2010/  Our neighbor David Schleicher is a master book critic, and his latest rather dismissive review of John Irving’s latest is a must-read: http://davethenovelist.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/rambling-river/ [...]
Yep, your brief assessment here needs no embellishment Andrew. This one is inferior to THE LION, THE WITCH, and frankly was forgotten shortly after leaving the theatre. As you also state rightly, the kids have worn out their welcome too. I guess you can only go to the well once with this material.
Succinct observations, Sam. As rote as I found “Prince Caspian,” a part of me still wants Disney and Walden to make “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” which was my favorite Narnia book as a child, and had, I believe, the most cinematic story.