In case you have been in a cave for the past month, this is the second instalment in the ‘Chronicles of Narnia‘ adventures. And wow, what a huge improvement on the last piece of overly Christian, wooden, drippy cinema. I jest, I jest.
It is pretty much exactly the same, only this time there is a bit of eye candy, in the form of Prince Caspian. Not only was it VERY similar to the first (Lion, Witch, Wardrobe) it also felt unnecessarily lengthy, as do so many of the so-called ‘epics’ we have to endure these days. Being 5 hours longer than the usual 90minute film doesn’t actually make it any better, who knew?
After a hopping through a secret loophole, the wooden quartet find their way to the beautiful scenic paradise, known as Narnia, where they are considered royalty for life. I’m not even going to try and explain the age/time differential because I don’t really understand, and I don’t really care, (it’s probably on a Narnia forum somewhere if you’re really interested). Because when they return it is approximately 1,300 years later (in Narnia).
But this time there is no sign of the biblical lion Aslan, and his herd of loyal followers. Narnia is now unofficially ruled by a ruthless, evil lord called Miraz, who spares no time getting rid of whoever might stand in his way to the thrown (Prince Caspian). So as Caspian escapes the clasp of Miraz, and lands himself in with an underground military led by a dwarf and a badger (that’s just a sitcom waiting to happen). The children arrive, ready to find Alsan, then claim back their land and freedom, and give Caspian back the thrown. However first they must take on Miraz’s massive army, queue battle sequence minus the blood, gore and general nastiness that is war.
This film does have elements that make it darker than the first, but the returning director Andrew Adamson’s tends to overdose on the swordplay and battle sequences, (probably about 87% of the film), than focus on the underlying problems the children are going through. The heroes again are the expressionless, tweed-ridden, schoolchildren whose lips tend to take up more screen than anything else in the film.
Prince Caspian takes centre stage with his performance, despite the rather clichéd Spanish accent. Generally the film is okay, it would be so much better if it was shorter and less twee, but that said, it is a film for children. So if you tend to get sick quickly at morals and clean, tame jokes, I’d give this a pass. Take the children, the children who are young enough not to see the religious undertones and not be bothered by the strange lack of blood.
Emily Paget