The Portable Door review – Harry Potter-ish YA fantasy carried by hardworking cast
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Jeffrey Walker’s adaptation of the young-adult fantasy novel retains its edge thanks to its performances, but gets stuck on the whole door thing
Adapted from Tom Holt’s 2003 young-adult fantasy novel, this is a passable attempt at kickstarting a new Harry Potter-style franchise set in a fusty-quirky institution, dosed up with extra Gilliamesque grotesquery. Co-produced by the Jim Henson Company, the production design is poky and intense, and the cast – with Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill larking it up – give it their all. But amid all this clutter, it sometimes has trouble moving its story forward.
The Portable Door has a nice conceit: the venerable London corporation of JW Wells & Co is responsible for engineering all the daily incidents of coincidence and serendipity that happen in urban life. Not that wet-behind-the-ears intern Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson), desperate for any gig, knows the company’s raison d’etre when he signs up. He appears to have no discernible talents whatsoever, unlike his fellow newbie Sophie (Sophie Wilde), whose ability as an empath is soon put to use in manipulating the unsuspecting public. So he’s relieved when CEO Humphrey Wells (Waltz) tasks him with finding a magic door that has gone awol somewhere in the grotto-like premises.
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