The Story
We meet our hero Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) as he’s being hustled out of a castle. His uncle, Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), and aunt have just become parents of a strapping baby boy, and so having Caspian around standing in the way of their own son’s ascension to the throne won’t do at all. Miraz is evil to his very core and willing to kill his own nephew in order to make sure he, and eventually his son, will be king.
Prince Caspian narrowly escapes being murdered by Miraz’ henchmen and is pursued through the forest where he runs into creatures he believed were long extinct. Two dwarves (played by Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis) surprise the young prince and he, being in such a perilous situation, decides it’s time to blow the horn to summon the Kings and Queens of Narnia – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie.
Of the four Pevensie siblings, it’s William who’s had the hardest time adjusting to being just a plain, ordinary school student back in England. After fighting fantastical creatures and being crowned Kings and Queens of Narnia, going through the daily grind of school work is a major letdown. So when the horn sounds, it’s enthusiastically back to Narnia they go.
Reluctantly accepting Prince Caspian as an ally, the Pevensie siblings - with the help of a 2-foot tall mouse, a badger with a lot of spunk, and Nikabrik the dwarf - lead the Narnians into war against Miraz’ Telmarine troops with the future of Narnia at stake.
The Cast
The actors who play the Pevensie siblings – William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and Georgie Henley - have matured and sharpened their acting skills. And newcomer Barnes is going to find himself with a huge female fan club based on just this film alone. Barnes plays an action hero well and if he can fix his now-you-hear-it, now-you-don’t-accent, the next Narnia movie will be in good hands.
Eddie Izzard’s voice work as the sword-brandishing mouse who dispatches his enemies with lightning speed truly makes the little creature come to life. The same can be said for Ken Stott as Trufflehunter the badger and Liam Neeson who returns as the voice of Aslan. Dinklage and Castellitto are real standouts amongst the huge supporting cast, with Castellitto in particular delivering a terrific performance as a man who's so obsessed with power that he’ll stop at nothing to be crowned king. Castellitto’s so good at playing evil you may have to suppress the urge to boo-hiss when he’s onscreen.
The very Disney-ish, G-rated way the major battle scene in the first film made it look as though war wasn’t hell so much as a bad day in the park irked me, but this time the graphic battle sequences do in fact look as dangerous and lethal as they should. The battle scenes are more brutal; Narnian creatures and humans are actually wounded and die. We even see a severed head hitting the ground, albeit minus any blood and with the face turned away and the back of the head covered by a helmet.
I’m not advocating violence in films. Don’t get me wrong, I think senseless violence in movies just for the shock value – and the chance to show off some disturbingly realistic special effects and gore – is far from the best way to entertain audiences. But when the story demands violence, such as the fight scenes between the Narnians and the Telmarians, or harking back to the pivotal fight between the White Witches’ followers and the Narnians in the first film, then it ought to look as though there really is a battle between life and death playing out on the screen. This second film goes the distance and does in fact look as though every creature participating in the fight is in dire jeopardy.
Prince Caspian goes on a little too long, though I’m not sure what parts deserved to be clipped in order to tidy up and shorten the story. There’s not much extra padding or filler material, and the pace of the film never really slows down. Other than the length, and Barnes’ in-and-out accent, Prince Caspian’s a truly entertaining action epic that’s a giant leap above its predecessor.
GRADE: B+
Prince Caspian was directed by Andrew Adamson and is rated PG for epic battle action and violence.
Theatrical Release Date: May 16, 2008
