Writer: Nor Inayah Ariffin

Writer Ratings:
Overall:
Cast:
Plot:
Effects:
Cinematography:

Watch this if you liked: "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe" and "The Lord Of The Rings" Trilogy.

It's sad when the titular character in a grand epic such as "Prince Caspian" turns out to be the most colourless, boring person in the entire film. Sure, he's pretty to look at, but he's hollow, like a chocolate Easter egg with some cheap plastic toy rattling around inside, very much like his performance.

This shouldn't really come as a surprise to us, because we can see what a dreary performance Ben Barnes has in store for us from the film's trailer, where he woodenly proclaims that he is Prince Caspian in very much the same way a log might. Heck, even the animated characters of Reepicheep the mouse and the badger have more onscreen charisma than living, breathing Barnes.

Oh, well, as I've said, he is good-looking enough, and anyway, the Pevensie siblings more than make up for his dire acting skills with their bubbly banter. While Caspian and Peter Pevensie (the High King of Narnia) compete with each other to see who is best (at sword fighting and whatever else it is that young adult males need to prove), Peter is by far more interesting and endearing.

Still, the person or creature that really steals the show is Trumpkin the Dwarf, played by Peter Dinklage, who is half their size and has twice the talent. His portrayal of the cynical, witty and fiercely loyal Dwarf carries the film all the way to the end. In fact, it is his fate the audience seemed to care more about, instead of Prince Caspian's. Every time Trumpkin gets hurt or goes missing, it feels like there is something missing from the film.

The special effects are quite good, but smaller releases this year have done better in that department than "Prince Caspian", for example "The Spiderwick Chronicles". In this day and age, such special effects have become quite ordinary and expected. Although the film was meant to portray a darker Narnia, it was in parts a bit too dark, to the point where you couldn't see what was happening and led you to the brink of losing interest.

Also, the battle scenes didn't feature enough of the Narnians. The focus was mostly on the Telmarine soldiers versus the Pevensies and Caspian. What made the first film such a joy to watch was seeing all kinds of creatures of different sizes and shapes fight each other. Here, we catch only slight glimpses of the creatures, not anywhere near the extent one would have expected. As much has been made of the improvements in the design and technical aspects of characters like the minotaurs and the centaurs, it is disappointing to not see as much of them as we could have hoped for.

There are some really fun scenes, especially when the siblings first return to Narnia and explore the islands and the ruins of Cair Paravel where they rediscover forgotten treasures. When they get to know the other creatures of the new Narnia, it is just as interesting for us as it is for them. Things just end up seeming too easy for them and for Caspian, and everything that happens does so as if by clockwork, following a much-established formula that Hollywood has honed to perfection.

At the end of the day, there isn't really much suspense, because all of us watching it, regardless of whether you've read the books or seen the cartoons before, will know what will happen next, and after that, and so on. No surprises to be had, and quite an unsatisfactory ending. If there's only one big movie you want to see this year, you should probably give this one a miss. Read the book instead.

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008