The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian (2008) film images :
The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian (2008) Film Rating and Review :
Rating :
Acting – 5/10
Direction – 5/10
Screenplay – 4/10
Music – 7/10
Technique – 7/10
Review :
Missing the magic roar
Acting – 5/10
Direction – 5/10
Screenplay – 4/10
Music – 7/10
Technique – 7/10
Review :
Missing the magic roar
Sequels are always tricky. What do you do with a follow-up to a blockbuster? Do you try to match it and create situations reminiscent of the scenes that worked before or do you try and establish a new world and give the film a separate identity?
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second film in the Narnia series following the super successful The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, didn’t have much of a choice. When CS Lewis wrote Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia in 1951 he had no clue that his books would get made into movies some day. That makes it so different from say the Harry Potter films — the obvious benchmark for the Narnia movies with London school kids finding themselves in lost lands fighting fantasy creatures in both. A J.K. Rowling could choose her words carefully, well aware that they would be translated onto the screen in the future.
Prince Caspian is not as spectacular a story as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And the makers obviously knew it, choosing to dwell on images from the first film — how the trees used to move on their own, how the petals used to float in the air....
They do not do so anymore. Narnia is in ruins thanks to the Telmarine invaders. The Narnians are in hiding while the Telmarines have their own problems. Miraz, the uncle of the rightful heir to the throne Prince Caspian, wants to get rid of the young man. Caspian finds support from the Narnians and our four Londoners Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy who are whisked back to their kingdom in a jiffy.
What follows are action set-pieces punctuated by Prince Caspian’s internal conflicts and the kids’ nostalgia-laden meanderings through Narnia. It’s very watch-able but in no way is it as spectacular as the first adventure.
Even the Big A is missing. Yes, Aslan the Lion is missing but for two scenes in the end. Tilda Swinton’s White Witch is there for just a couple of shots. In fact, the best scenes in Prince Caspian are provided by Reepicheep the mouse (voiced by Eddie Izzard), who’s more Errol Flynn than rodent.
It doesn’t help that Ben Barnes — the boy who plays Prince Caspian — is quite insipid. His attempts at histrionics do not match his good looks. Even William Moseley as Peter and Anna Popplewell as Susan appear quite flat. But the two little ones — Georgie Henley as Lucy and Skandar Keynes as Edmund — are as sweet and smart as ever.
Make no mistake; Prince Caspian is a good summer vacation watch for kids. It is just that their magical walk across the wardrobe was much more enchanting. Watch this episode for the endearing Lucy-Aslan hug and the visually-stunning CGI-strong climactic battle.
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