A tepid Telmarine tale (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (DVD))

Member Name: dididave

Product:	The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (DVD)
Date:	05/11/08 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Epic battles, good advancement of characters, great effects.

Disadvantages: Why the random love story? Takes too long for something to happen. Why French?

Caspian, the rightful heir to the Telmarine throne goes on the run from his evil uncle. Trapped by wild Narnian creatures in the woods he blows on the horn of last resort and awaits the help of the King's of old. Peter, Susan, Edward and Lucy are waiting to go to boarding school when they feel the World shift and they are dragged back into a Narnia that has changed since their last visit. Can they join with Prince Caspian and his ragtag Narnian army to overthrow his evil uncle Miraz?

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" is the second movie in a series that should need no introduction. C.S Lewis's books are the stuff of legend and are a part of most people's childhood and although Disney's first attempt at the series in "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" received a lukewarm response, there was always going to be a demand for a continuation in the series. Unfortunately, "Prince Caspian" continues were the previous film left off in being another somewhat lukewarm offering.

This is not a bad film. It remains faithful to the books and the battle scenes are both exciting and convincing. However, it does suffer from the same problem that the book had for me, nothing happens for absolutely ages and then everything seems to happen all at once. While we slowly discover how Narnia has moved on since our four protagonists were last there we are treated to a slow unraveling of Narnian history. This is all a bit dull and while essential in setting the scene, there is a lack of magic to the first hour that will leave you irritated. The novel and as such this film is very much a darker, more political affair than the snow laden good versus evil of the previous outing. There is definitely no Father Christmas here and it is all a bit too serious at times. When the action finally kicks in it is exciting stuff but by that point you have to ask yourself whether you care?

The dark tone is not a bad thing in itself and it does allow for a more sinister portrayal of Narnia were there is not as clear a divide between good and evil. This is re-inforced by duplicitous characters on both sides with a good amount of Iago style pourings into the leaders ears. This is less a children's film and more of an action movie. Yes there are Griffins and Centaurs but do not mistake this for Harry Potter. Battles are vicious and there are casualties that you see, none of this vanishing into the ether malarkey.

What this amounts to is a film that is more suited to teens and adults than you would expect from the Disney stable. The acting is all very over the top and grandiose with lots of figurative penis waving and drawn out speeches. For some reason the bad guys are all French which sits very oddly with me and seems a bit strange as they are portrayed with arrogance and deviousness you will find in every French stereotype across the popcorn popping World. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are much improved in this outing and have lost the wooden awkwardness I remember from the previous film. They are still very "Famous Five" lashings of ginger beer but this sits well with my vision of them and I like the fact that their childlike innocence is slowly mixed with their adult experiences of Narnia. It is therefore, quite annoying that Disney have chosen to go all wet on us and give a tame and pointless romantic link between Susan and Caspian.

There are some nice touches to "Prince Caspian" that you will enjoy if you can get past the lengthy 144 minutes of running time. The battle scenes are nothing short of epic and the CGI and animatronics are very convincing. The characters have come on since the previous film and there are good signs for the next, my favourite installment "Voyage of the Dawntreader". There are some inspired choices here with Eddie Izzard the perfect voice for deadly mouse "Reepicheep" and if you think of this film as a stop gap between two more exciting adventures you will not be disappointed. One to watch if you have time on your hands.

Summary: A reasonable stop gap between the series.