Review of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) by Andrew L — 21 Jan 2012

I was a huge fan of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I think Andrew Adamson did for it what Peter Jackson did for Lord of the Rings: He gave the movie a proper treatment worthy of the story. However, I think that the grandness of the storytelling pales in comparison to the follow up with Prince Caspian. From the outset, you're right in the action. The battles are more epic, the story is so well weaved, and at the heart of it all are the pevensie children, a year older in our world, trying to adjust back to "normal" life after living out a lifetime in Narnia. The Narnia they returned to is completely unlike anything they remember, as 1300 years have passed since they left.

One thing that I was really impressed with is, in the close-in action, how much variation you can see in the styles of combat from species to species: If you watch, each race has its own combat style that makes each one stand out from the others.

And then, of course, there's Reepicheep. In the 1989 Prince Caspian from the BBC, Reepicheep was played by a midget in a mouse costume (oddly enough, played by Warwick Davis, who plays Nikabrik in this version). With the advancement in movie technology, we get our beloved swashbuckling mouse in all his CGI glory, voiced by Eddie Izzard, who I think really completes the character. And he provides a sense of comic relief while, at the same time, being the baddest sword-wielding mouse ever (Nothing like watching 10 telmarines get taken out by something rushing around through the grass, only to find out it's a mouse...).

Overall, I enjoyed it, and am offically anxious to see how they top this with 2010's Voyage of the Dawn Treader.