The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian ( 2008 ) - Ben Barnes , Georgie Henley , Skandar Keynes , William Moseley , Anna Popplewell

The follow up to The Chronicles of Narnia : the Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe ( 2005 ) has it's work cut out. Disney have decided to release it just a week before arguably the fantasy blockbuster of the summer , the new Indiana Jones movie. Is their confidence well founded or misplaced ? Read on ...

I liked the Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe. It covered a lot of narrative ground quickly and had a real charm to it. The good news is that much of that charm is present and correct here. A large part of that was down to the four young actors who play the Pevensie children and they aquit themselves well again , Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian on the other hand gives a bland performance. Imagine a second rate Orlando Bloom in Pirates , you get the idea ?

There's much to like here , the action sequences , cinematography and score are excellent , plus any movie featuring a one and half foot tall sword fighting mouse ( not to mention a well spoken Badger ) can't be all bad. Prince Caspian does have some flaws however , there is virtually no character development , you know nothing more about the main protaganists than you did at the beginning. Dialogue and narrative meanwhile are sacrificed at the altar of the action sequence. The film is simply too top heavy with action and fails to make you truly care about what happens to the individuals involved as their personalities are never really explored.

The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian is a missed opportunity. We end up with a good movie when there was so much potential for it to be a great one. Here's hoping they make a more balanced picture when the next chapter of C.S Lewis' classic childrens series hits the big screen next time around. For now Indiana Jones can sleep easy ...


Director

Andrew Adamson 6/10 Great action sequences but no Peter Jackson ( Lord of the Rings ).


Actors

Ben Barnes ( Prince Caspian ) 5/10 Seemed to have had a charisma bypass.

Georgie Henley ( Lucy ) 8/10 Promising young actress.

Skandar Keynes ( Edmund ) 7/10 Suited the part.

William Moseley ( Peter ) 7/10 Well cast again.

Anna Popplewell ( Susan ) 8/10 Has a big future.


Overall

Lack of dialogue , character development and narrative mar an otherwise excellent fantasy movie.

Seven out of Ten