SYNOPSIS:
The
magical world of C.S. Lewis' beloved fantasy comes to life once
again in PRINCE CASPIAN, the second installment of THE CHRONICLES
OF NARNIA series. Join Peter, Susan, Edmund Lucy, the mighty
and majestic Aslan, friendly new Narnian creatures and Prince
Caspian as they lead the Narnians on a remarkable journey to
restore peace and glory to their enchanted land. Continuing
the adventure of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE with more
magic and a brand-new hero, PRINCE CASPIAN is a triumph of imagination,
courage, love, joy and humor your whole family will want to
watch again and again.
MOVIE REVIEW:
One of the many problems the first Narnia adventure had were the uneven pacing and cheesy special effects which is especially obvious when viewed on the big screen. But still, it had the merits of a good old sword-buckling fantasy adventure for the young and old that you have to overlook those missteps.
Based on the second book of the renowned C.S. Lewis literary works, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is a much more superior piece of cinematic outing than the first.
The Pevensie siblings, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy who stumble upon the magical land of Narnia through a wardrobe is back to save Prince Caspian and Narnia. Caspian who is the rightful heir to the throne is wanted dead by his evil uncle, Miraz whom is eyeing to be King. With the help of the Pevensie siblings and the inhabitants (magical creatures of sorts) of Narnia, they must unite together to overthrow the Telmarines (humans) and restore the once flourished land.
Director Andrew Adamson seems to have a tighter and much more confident stance on the plot this time round. Although running at 140 minutes (excluding a 10 minutes credits run), the pacing of Prince Caspian picks up its momentum at the 60 minutes mark and never look back. The first Narnia on the other hand took a while to achieve its aim perhaps it’s the various characters that populate the magical land that require deeper introduction. In Prince Caspian, I’m sure you won’t be too surprised to stumble upon a talking noble mouse, a talking badger or the great wise Aslan.
Even the performance of the child actors (now teens) who play the Pevensie siblings has progressed a lot here. At least they carry the believability of someone who struggles to live in reality and Narnia. Newcomer Ben Barnes who played Caspian seems likely a contender for the role of ‘heartthrob’ in the years to come. Watch out, Orlando Bloom! Tilda Swinton who had a major role as the evil White Queen in the first turns in a respectable cameo.
What really impresses is the sure grandeur of the visual effects done by Framestone and Weta. The magnificent castle set which was built in the Czech Republic, the final battle sequence and the brutal fight sequences truly set a new standard in a supposedly child-friendly fantasy flick.
As mentioned earlier, the flow of Prince Caspian definitely surpassed Wardrobe. For those who are looking for a deeper plotting might be disappointed with Caspian’s more linear outline. However, as a fantasy adventure, it’s progressively darker and yet far more exciting which will have the young and old rooting for.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Disc 1 contains the feature film and a commentary track with director Andrew Adamson and the young actors. A boisterous track that never dulls you but equipped with lots of behind-the-scenes ancedotes to charm you.
Disc
2
Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns – The longest feature in this DVD which runs almost 35 minutes consisting of interviews with crew, cast and especially the director which talks of why he returned to the director’s seat.
Sets of Narnia: A Classic Comes to Life – The original works of C.S. Lewis left most of the description to the readers’ imagination. In this feature, the stepson of C.S. Lewis compares the original literary works with the actual finished sets of Narnia created by the excellent production team.
Big Movie Comes to a Small Town – A not-to-be-missed segment which shows the effect of the crew had on the small sleepy town of Bovec when truckloads of the production crew came filming on this scenic location.
Previsualizing Narnia – Hollywood have been using pre-vis for most of their productions in recent years, this 10 minutes featurette shows you how they are used onset during filming.
Deleted Scenes – Lasting 11 minutes with optional commentary by director Andrew Adamson. There are 10 deleted scenes here mainly excised because of pacing.
Bloopers – Three minutes of fun is what you get as you see the cast forgetting their lines and tripping over the dense forestry etc.
Talking Animals and Walking Trees: The Magical World of Narnia – You can’t have Narnia without talking animals and walking trees. This quick featurette touches on how they are animated as compared to the first movie.
Secrets of the Duel – The fights in Prince Caspian get more intense and this behind-the-scenes featurette shows you some snippets of how the fight sequences are choreographed.
Becoming Trumpkin/Warwick Davis: The Man Behind Nikabrik – This is an interesting featurette as it follows actor Warwick Davis in a day’s work of filming. The grueling make-up sessions and long waiting time onset are just one of the many ‘benefits’ of becoming Nikabrik.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Presented in widescreen 2.40:1, the DVD transfer is excellent in showcasing the lush world of Narnia. The colours and landscape is a marvel to watch. Even the castle attack which is set at night is impressive. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is equally impressive with lots of ambient effects and Harry Greason-Williams’s score is as epic as it can gets. Unfortunately the downside is the overachieving score tends to overwhelm the dialogues at certain parts of the movie.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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