The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2-Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD]

Strangely the film seems to be difficult to get your hands on these days so I had to buy a used copy, nonetheless it arrived in great condition. This film is a childhood favourite of mine and I'm pleased to say that it has aged very well. In my opinion it improves upon the already amazing first film in almost every way, introducing great new characters such as Prince Caspian, Trumpkin the dwarf and Reepicheep the mouse. I'd go as far as to say that it's even better than the book it's based on which is a very rare occurrence. In hindsight it's disappointing that the third film in the series failed to live up to the high bar set by the first two and that as a result the future planned films ended up cancelled but this film ends so perfectly that you could pretend this is where the story ends, leaving Edmund and Lucy's next adventure in Narnia up to the imagination and omitting Dawn Treader completely if you so wish.

Just to get this out of the way, when I first watched this film I was quite taken aback by the amount of artistic licence taken with such a beloved tale for the big screen. However, as I do know, it is very hard (and this is true) for any director to make a film that gives a direct image to loyal fans of a literature classic. That the book that C.S Lewis wrote has been made into a film is an achievement in itself because both go at very different paces; the book slows it down as of course it is meant to, with the four heroes vanishing for a good amount of the story before setting out anywhere, whereas the film cuts straight to the action and thrusts them into it. I, therefore, being a fan of both a slow and relaxing read and an epic and fast paced movie, like both.This film, "Prince Caspian" is as fabulous as "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe", with its very own added scenes, suspense and alterations, but not without reason. For me, it actually furthers, fleshes out and explains the events throughout the movie. I particularly like the emphasis on the Telmarines; the casting choices for them are just brilliant. What with their natural Latin looks and accents, Sergio Castelitto, Alicia Borrachero, Damian Alcazar and Pierfrancesco Favino turn their characters of Miraz, Prunaprismia, Sopespian and Glozelle into people with whom you can both be captivated and also sympathize; particularly Prunaprismia when she (and Caspian) find out exactly what her husband did so determinedly so he could be King. The sheer size of their fortress, the arrows flying and the chase at the very start of the film is a great taster of the Telmarines' formidable force; it makes for an even bigger, good looking and yet heart wrenching nighttime sequence somewhere in the middle of the film and the final battle near the end.I love Ben Barnes as the title character. He is Prince Caspian because he both looks and acts the exact same age as Peter; somewhere in their early teens, but with an innocent and sympathetic air that lends him an unusually compassionate aura for one coming from so formidable a nation. Yet it also takes getting used to, for the Narnians and for Peter. He is the High King, after all. It takes far more time for him to move to the same cause as his people (with Caspian's leadership and identity in the balance along the way). When set next to Peter, however, you have to admit that Caspian is equally handsome and strong, in heart, mind and soul, and even a little in romantic love.Lucy is, as ever, completely faithful to Aslan. Yet when she at first appears to see him, that is exactly how it is supposed to look because if you just look, the others are actually facing in the same direction as her. They just don't have that undying faith that she does, which leads to an insightful conversation between her and Peter later on in the film when he admits that he no longer has all of the capacity to believe, tainted as it is by his unintentional scepticism.Perhaps the one character out of the four Kings and Queens of Narnia to feel far less for Narnia is Susan. She is just very practical, although not nearly as sceptical as she is for a good portion of "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe", which makes a nice change. Anna Popplewell just gets the character of Susan, because this is how she appears in the story of "Prince Caspian", and just that bit further here in this film adaptation. This is where you finally see, if you are a faithful fan of C.S Lewis' "The Chronicles Of Narnia" why she is not counted among the "Friends Of Narnia" in the final book, "The Last Battle" after having left Narnia in this story, and far more so than in the televised version by BBC.Edmund, well, what can I say about Edmund? He is no longer nasty towards Lucy, and nor is he a victim. When things really get desperate and it looks like Caspian might be going in a different direction after feeling let down, Edmund saves the day. He becomes more of the hero that emerged when he struck out at the Witch in the first film.Also, there are some new faces among the Narnians; keep an eye out for the good, the bad and the ugly!The Special Features over on the second disc are fantastic. There are some real insider looks into the duel between Miraz and Peter, the man behind Nickabrick the Dwarf: Mr Warwick Davies who also starred in BBC's "Prince Caspian", "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Silver Chair", a variety of deleted scenes and other great extras.Overall, this is a well directed, well acted, highly recommended fantasy film not to be missed.

In this 2008 high fantasy, a year has passed since the first novel and the four Pevensie children are magically whisked away to a Narnia where 1300 years have passed. They have been summoned by the rightful heir, Prince Caspian, after he avoided an assassination attempt and fled, but exactly how can the children help?Chronologically this is the second Narnia story published, but fourth in the Narnia timeline, but that’s mostly irrelevant as it’s basically a stand alone, and while it helps to have seen ‘The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe’, it’s not essential. Full of dry, wry and often ironic humour with plenty of adventure, this will please many, but critics will have a field day with the numerous gaffs and errors. Others will be irritated by the ‘school production’ acting of the four human characters. The pace is exciting, the sets and special effects are skilfully produced and the battle scenes surprising and impressive for a PG rating.The first disc opens to a language selection screen [also offering English audio descriptive] before going into the usual overlong Disney adverts. Thankfully this was the last of the Narnia movies to be done by them. The main menu offers play, scene selection, audio commentary, set up [languages and subtitles] and sneak peaks. I’m about 20 minutes in and the film hasn’t even started yet! The second disc is full of extras, making ofs, bloopers etc.As a sequel of sorts this had an uphill struggle to maintain the ‘novelty’ value of ‘LW&W’ but does a credible job. Youngsters of all ages will be enthralled by the story and animation, but the older teenagers and the ‘20 somethings’ in between will probably snigger. Also, forget the book and view this as the fantasy it’s meant to be and you’ll find it exhilarating –if a little cringe worthy in places [lose a *], otherwise you’ll most likely be enraged especially as this is overlong for many youngsters and is much ‘darker’ than the first instalment.

My 7 year old has been desperate to watch this after reading the books and watching The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and for him it didn't disappoint! It was definitely a lot darker and more grown up but the fantasy element went some way to diluting this. He found some of the battle scenes slightly upsetting but having read the books he understood the storyline and so it wasn't a shock to him and he could process why it happened. The scenery and special effects are amazing and the animal characters are brilliant. We watched this as a family (7, 9, 37 and 40!) and all thoroughly enjoyed it and now my son can't wait to see 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. Just wish they had carried on and made all the other Chronicles of Narnia into films.