CINEMA: Prince Caspian
June 26, 2008In which the stars from the first Narnia movie reprise their roles and are joined by a new hero, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes).
The Pevensie brothers and sisters have only been back in England for a year since their last adventures in Narnia when a distress call reaches them urging them to return to the magic kingdom. On arrival, they discover a thousand years have passed and the land is now ruled by an evil tyrant. However his nephew, Prince Caspian, vows to form an army with the centaurs, griffins and woodland animals who have retreated deep into the forest and defeat him, and Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skander Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) decide to help him.
The film looks even more glorious than its predecessor thanks to some fantastic location work in New Zealand, and there is definitely a darker and more violent edge this time round. There’s also a marked improvement in the CGI rendition of the animals (especially Aslan). However, the story is quite confusing and extremely gung ho, and shows just how dated the original book has become.
Nonetheless, until the next instalment of Harry Potter arrives this has more than enough myth, mystery and magic to keep sword and sorcery fans entertained. Dee Pilgrim
