Rating of
3/4
Nothing happens the same way twice.
GeminiSixty6 - wrote on 05/16/08
"Nothing happens the same way twice." That little saying was a central theme for the film, and holds true if you are comparing this second installment to its predecessor. At first glance you begin thinking that this time around Narnia's going to be more grown up, darker, and faster. Well, it's growing up; it's a touch darker, and a whole hell of a lot faster.
The film has the luxury to avoid most major character development since the all four of the main characters are back from the first one. But, I was left with a little void in my movie heart for Prince Caspian (played by Ben Barnes). He just didn't sit well with me, and I can't quite tell if it was the character himself or what Barnes put on film. Overall he does a decent job, but honestly he wasn't on screen as much as I thought he would be.
The film is darker than the first, but I felt it could have gone some more towards the dark side, so to speak. There was a lot of killing, but no gushing amounts of blood, but still I'm pretty shocked it landed a PG rating. One of my favorite scenes in the whole film comes when Caspian is tempted to release the Ice Queen. I thought it was beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, what Edmond did I honestly found to be unexpected, but totally understandable. So, it's darker than the first, but I also felt it was funnier than the first too. I thought the introduction of the sword carrying mice were a nice addition, and the crowd I was with seemed to really enjoy them too.
The film has a faster story than the first, and to me the near two and a half hour film flew by. Narnia just continues to grow with me. I think it is a great fantasy adventure with some interesting takes on life and values. Andrew Adamson has done a great job with both films. He has brought a unique vision to Narnia that in some moments reminds me of what Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I just hope future installments continue to grow as well as Caspian grew from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
