 Two film industry trade journals gave the film positive reviews . Todd McCarthy of Variety felt Adamson 's direction had a " surer sense of cinematic values " and praised the improved special effects , the " timeless " locations and production design . On the performances , he felt " the four kids overall have more character and are therefore more interesting to watch than they were before , and Italian actor Castellitto registers strongly with evil that 's implacable but not overplayed . " Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter noted the film was darker than its predecessor , with " the loss of innocence theme ... significantly deepened " . He highlighted Peter Dinklage 's performance , which " outmaneuver [ ed ] the title character as Narnia 's most colorful new inhabitant " ; . 
