Transition to the present day, well the present of the Prevensie siblings. The kids are waiting for the subway when they are magically transported back to Narnia. The big difference between this time and their first trip is that 1300 years have passed, Narnia has been decimated following a long battle with their neighboring Telmarines, of which Caspian is prince. Finding the fantastical land in this condition proves to be something of a shock to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is all about the surface flash and epic scope of Caspian's attempt to regain the throne and the uniting of the Narnian forces to clash on the open field of battle with the forces of evil. It is so caught up in this that the idea of character development and actual story is put on the backburner. This imbalance in the screenplay leads to a pace that is all hurry up and wait. The plot moves forward in fits and spurts, and with a running time north of two hours, it overstays its welcome. With a time that long you would think that something would happen, but I do not believe that much did, again, it is all about the epic flash of the battles and less about forward motion. Much like this review, going nowhere and fast.
To its credit, there is an attempt to weave a subtext of faith throughout, but it is shoved to the back. While it is made to feel deep and meaningful, it is not explored fully enough to have any sort of real impact. Well, at least there is more of an attempt here to retain the author's thoughts than there was in The Golden Compass.
I guess it wasn't a complete loss, but there I can see so much more potential in the material than what is shown. I did enjoy the comic vignettes with Reepicheep, the battle mouse voiced by Eddie Izzard. Peter Dinklage is an excellent actor and his skill shown through the big beard he had to wear as Trumpkin. Still, this should have been a stronger experience than it was.
Bottomline. This is not a bad movie nor is it a good movie. What it is, is a very mediocre movie. The screenplay is loaded with clunkers, not to mention the pacing/story, or lack thereof, issues. I am sure fans of the novel will have plenty to complain about, while others will enjoy the flash of it all. I was not able to get behind it, yet I am not inclined to completely pan it. There are much worse films you could be subjected to.
Very Mildly Recommended.
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