Synopsis:

Prince Caspian begins with the same four British children reacclimatized to London living, forgetful of or at least displacing memories of Narnia.  At the same time the children are normalizing, the world of Narnia is in peril.  In just one year of the children's' lives, Narnia has aged 1,300 years.  Narnia has been taken over by King Miraz and his empire of followers.  Gone are the days of animals, humans and creatures existing alongside one another in harmony.  Animals have reverted to their instincts and the creatures of Narnia have gone into hiding to save themselves.

King Miraz' nephew Prince Caspian is the heir to the throne of the Kingdom.  Soon after King Miraz' wife has a son, his plans to thwart Caspian's ascension to the thrown begin.  With the help of his professor, Caspian goes on the run.  After an accidental summoning of the Pevensie children back to Narnia occurs through use of Susan's horn, Caspian, the Pevensie children and the Narnians begin an adventure to attempt to take back the kingdom of Narnia from the evil King Miraz.

The Freak's Rating: A- : Were you one of the people who loved The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?  As a child, that book was one of my first overdue fees I ever had to pay at my local library.  I read the story at least a hundred times, delving deep into my imagination and exploring the world of Narnia time and time again.  Upon hearing a few years ago that a big-screen adaptation of the book was in the works, my heart skipped in anticipation.  I practically held my breath until it was released...and then exhaled in disappointment.  The film wasn't nearly as good as it should have been.  Through poor direction, I wasn't sold on the innocent discovery of the world, thought the religious undertones were far too twisted and dark at times and was left with a bland taste in my mouth.  Had this site been around at the time of seeing that film, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe would have squeaked in with a mediocre C rating.

Prince Caspian is a very different movie than the first in the series.  Leaving behind the whimsical nature of the previous film, the feel of this film is wonderfully dark.  Ominous grays and blues saddled with epic pans of Narnian landscapes set an amazing stage for the film to play on.  With many scenes set in darkness, the tone is much more powerful and effective.  Prince Caspian just barely makes the cut for a PG rating.  Violence is prevalent in the film and it appears that simply not showing the blood is enough to stick with a family-friendly rating.

Editing of the film is flawed, with some shots cutting off too quickly and others extended a few seconds more than they needed to be.  The music is also interjected too strongly at times, taking the focus away from the story.  Adapting a screenplay that so many have read is a difficult task and one that is sure to draw criticism.  Some lines are better from the book, such as Aslan's discussion with Lucy on faith, but most are converted quite well.  Spiritual undertones are done much better in this film than the first.  Aslan's symbolism is undeniable, but the real struggle of personal faith is captured beautifully in multiple characters' eyes.  Some would argue that at one point in the film, Christ takes physical form and the symbolism is a tad over the top.  Others may not see it and chalk it up to good CGI.  The CGI in the film is done on par with most other fantasy films.  A special thank you goes out to the spectacular work of the casting director not to choose any known actors for voiceover work.  As I mentioned with Horton Hears A Who, nothing is more irritating that trying to figure out who is doing the voice of a character.  Casting directors for Prince Caspian hired unknowns and the film flows so much better because of it.

Children who can act are usually tough to find, but the Narnia series scored a major victory with most of the starring roles.  Lucy (Georgie Henley), Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) do a great job of pulling of their respective parts.  The one role that needs work is that of Edmund (Skandar Keynes).  Edmund will be more prominent in the third installment and will have his chance to win me over then.  In Prince Caspian, Ben Barnes lands a starring role that will launch his career.  His performance as Caspian isn't fantastic, but it is adequate and will instantly turn him into a hard-to-get actor.  It doesn't hurt that he looks like a cross between Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) and Orlando Bloom (Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End).  Peter Dinklage plays Trumpkin, a Narnian dwarf that befriends Lucy during her stay.  Dinklage has put on wonderful performances in every movie he has acted in and Prince Caspian is no different.  For those that like Dinklage and want more, look for The Station Agent. 

After Iron Man and with the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I felt that Prince Caspian was poorly timed and set to fail due to its launch date.  The opening weekend totals were lower than predicted, but this film will have enough Christian influence and good word of mouth to give it a life at the box office and an even better pull on DVD and Blu Ray than the first.  This is a great one to see on the big screen for the simple scope of this magical world.  Prince Caspian had me chewing my nails during battles, emotional during character driven scenes and dying to see what happens next in the series.  When the film ended, after a running time of over two hours, it was far too soon for me.

Sebastian's Rating: B : i guess i did enjoy it, it was a bit dissapointing in a way, much different than the book, but i did enjoy it, along with the previous one, but id give the one before an A- or something, this ones a bit darker... and the book wasnt so yeah... you decide

Brian's Rating: A- : I think this movie does a wonderful job of visualizing the events from the book.  I think they nailed it.  Both with effect, and with personalities of the characters.  I still love the whole Chronicles of Narnia series, and am excited to see more of them come out in movie form.  I hope they continue to make them as good as the first 2.

There are still some issues with the battle scenes where the heavy editing to make it kid friendly just makes the battle sequence erratic and hard to watch.  However, there were more broad shots in this one to put it in perspective, and was definitely an improvement over the first.

I am biased on these types of movies, and will continue to be.  Great to see more fantasy-based movies hitting the big screen.

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