The second installment in the 'Narnia' series, "Prince Caspian," is a bit of a disappointment. Expecting a tighter, more leaner saga in the series, "Prince Caspian" was a bit more deliberate in its story telling than I expected. In short, the set up time made it feel as though this was the FIRST installment in the series and not a sequel.
The movie began on a positive note, however, jumping straight into the action with the escape of Prince Caspian and his subsequent adventures in the Narnian land. Summoning the four Kings and Queens of old, our lead characters return to the world where they once left but the land of Narnia is considerably different...the golden age has passed. They soon find out that the very existence of Narnia is at stake as Caspian's uncle, Lord Miraz (who had plotted to kill the Prince so that his son would become the heir to the kingdom), will stop at nothing to vanquish them.
The first 40 minutes of the film is completely entertaining and I thought that the adventure I had hoped for was going to unfold. Watching the 4 child Kings re-enter the world of Narnia and discovering the new characters within the lands made for an interesting little journey. Unfortunately, by the time they are fully reacquainted with these new Narnians and Prince Caspian himself, the film begins to stall big time, giving way to set-up and exposition that betrays the movie's earlier pacing.
As the inevitable conflict between the Narnians and the evil Miraz reaches its peak, I had already lost some of my interest in the film. The story telling just wasn't as sharp nor was the character development. Caspian himself, who started off with great promise. eventually felt like a stock character who had no real depth. I felt a better part could have been written for him. As far as the 4 child-Kings -- Susan, Lucy, Edmund and Peter -- they each came across well enough but for some reason the chemistry felt disjointed. To be honest, the best relationship in the saga was between Lucy and the likeable dwarf, Trumpkin. Their bond felt genuine and I was touched by how their friendship formed. Additional accolades go out to the honorable soldier rats of Narnia, who were also better characters to root for than most of their human counterparts.
As far as Aslan, the climax and the ultimate set up for the third movie -- these were all unremarkable elements. One problem was that the resolution became too predictable and that no real adjustments were made to provide a more vibrant resolution. Aslan's entrance into the proceedings could be predicted as far back as the first act and the ultimate set up for part 3, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", dragged well enough to make "Return of the King" envious. Lastly, my final nitpick is geared toward the editing of the picture and the reliance of too many slow-motion shots. Unsure why there were so many of these shots in the final cut, but the slow motion effect started to feel heavy handed, as if the dramatic impact was being shoved down our respective throats.
In summary, "Prince Caspian" did not turn out to be the movie I was expecting. In my eyes, it's a sequel that is weaker than its predecessor. The real shame of it, however, is that additional editing to trim the film down would have made it probably this a better movie than "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Alas, the filmmakers tried to squeeze too much drama and emotion out of this and instead left me feeling unfulfilled. It's a decent movie but it never exceeds just being a "decent" time at the cinema.
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