The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Director: Andrew Adamson
Rated: PG
Starts June 5.


I had a little trouble proving my credentials to get into the media screening for 'The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian', but the very nice girl at the counter decided to take my word for it in the end, asking only that I tell her what I thought of it afterwards. Well now I can do that for her, and all of you: it's surprisingly very good.

If you haven't seen 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe', this film's immediate predecessor, you may feel a little lost, as there's no attempt at recapping previous history. The four Pevensie children, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley), having saved the magical land of Narnia in the first film, are back in England and chafing a little. This is soon solved when a magic horn whisks them back, hundreds of years after they left. Their accidental summoner is Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the land of Telmarin, who is fleeing his murderously ambitious uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellito). Unless the Prince, the Pevensies and the dispossessed creatures of Narnia can unite, Miraz's army will conquer the entire land.

I wasn't all that impressed with the first 'Chronicles...' instalment, perhaps just because I'd loved the book so much and didn't feel the magic was captured on screen. I'm less familiar with the written sequels, so I admit to coming in with fewer expectations. But there is undeniably a different feel to this movie; it's a much darker, more mature experience, with a few scenes that could scare the dickens out of younger viewers. The characters of the Pevensies are more developed this time around, allowing them to make tough decisions and do some damage. (Susan in particular kicks arse.)

What makes a fantasy like this believable, more than the special effects (which are spectacular), are the performances. The returning actors seem more comfortable in their roles this time around; so much so that, at the start of the film, Barnes looks overshadowed by them, but he develops nicely in the second half. Castellito effectively underplays the merciless Miraz, bringing depth to what could have been an OTT villain. The true scenes-stealers are Peter Dinklage as the surly dwarf Trumpkin, and Eddie Izzard, voicing swashbuckling mouse-at-arms Reepicheep. (A special mention must be made of Warwick Davies, finally getting to play an unpleasant dwarf.)

Being a children's story, and a Disney film, there's quite a bit of sentimentality at the end, which undercuts the preceding darkness somewhat. Overall 'Prince Caspian' is an epic sequel that triumphs over the first, and is sure to make fantasy fans very happy.

Henry Nicholls