The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

 

This second entry in the franchise often gets a bad wrap for not being as magical and enchanting as the first one. Whilst the lessening of magic is undoubtedly true, on a more dramatic level it does manage to work really well. But more than likely people expected more of the fanciful stuff, whereas in the books, this also comes and goes. 

Is it perfect? No. But it is still a fun watch that actually improves if you have seen it more. 

Things are not all peace and quiet in the land of Narnia. Centuries have passed since the Pevensie children freed the land from the White Witch and now settlers from a far away land have made Narnia their home. They have also managed to nearly wipe out all the Narnians.

Humans, ey? Give them a new country and the first thing they do is kill all the locals. Don't you dare dispute that. Check a historybook once in a while. 

Anyway...

The young Prince Caspian, heir to the Telmarine throne, has to flee, because his aunt has just given birth to a son and now his uncle Miraz has his eyes firmly fixed on the throne. Caspian eventually discovers the remaining Narnians and forges an uneasy alliance as their new leader, but not before he blows a magical horn that also pulls the Pevensies back into Narnia, where they discover that a great many things have changed. Immediately, there's this conflict between Peter and Caspian, as Peter wants desperately to prove that he is the better king, but things don't always go according to plan... 

In the end, Peter challenges Miraz to a duel in order to give Lucy time to go and find Aslan as the Telmarines lay siege to the How, the last bastion of Narnian culture. Will she return in time and will Aslan save the day? 

Seeing as Aslan's pretty much actual Jesus, what do you think? 

So yes, the magic and mystery has been downscaled quite a lot this time. But that is not the film's fault: it is exactly this way in the book as well. What this does, is put the focus more on the conflicts the characters have. Caspian is an interesting character and Ben Barnes does a good job in playing him both regally enough to be a believable prince, yet insecure enough for his age. It isn't an easy trick to pull off, but he does it most excellently. The ones that fall a bit short, are the eldest of the Pevensies, Peter and Susan. Peter is an angry sulking prick a lot of the time. You know, pretty much what Edmund was in the first one? It doesn't really work, though. Susan just has to be there and doesn't do much. Lucy is once again more of the focal point and her amazement is catching. 

Also: the creatures still look great and are most of the time practical (makeup and animatronics), so that is always a bonus. 

This film is a lot darker in tone and execution as well. Heck, there's a scene in Miraz' castle that really pushes the edge of that horrid PG13 rating, but it is a scene not a lot of people will have seen coming and it is a breath of fresh air. Sure, they balance it with Reepicheep, the swashbuckling mouse, but you have to have fluffy squee, right?

So again: if you're expecting the family friendly magic of the first outing, you need to be aware that this is more human centred and a lot darker. It's a nice change of pace, albeit a little too jarring a difference perhaps. Still: this is an enjoyable film and I would definitely recommend it.