Product: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Two Disc Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
Great for Kids and Adults to Share
NOTE: If you have not seen or read "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe," this review may constitute a spoiler.Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are called back to Narnia by a blast from the hunting horn Susan left behind when they left there a year ago. That's a year in London, but it has been over a thousand in Narnia. Why? Because Narnia is threatened by the takeover of Miraz, Prince Caspian's wicked uncle who killed Caspian the Ninth. Our prince is the Tenth, but may not live to rule at this rate. Miraz' wife has just presented him with a son and heir, and he has no need for Prince Caspian anymore. Indeed, he has plenty of reason to want him dead. And not just because he's way, way better looking than his rotten uncle, either. Although that turns out to matter a good bit to Queen Susan.When the children return to Narnia, they are not yet aware of what called them back. They are delighted to be there until they realize that the ruins on the top of the hill are actually of the castle where they had ruled. It's been something like 1,300 years since they left, and Narnia was conquered not long after they returned to London. They encounter dwarfs who remember that there had been The Kings and Queens of Old, as well as Aslan, whom they have not seen in a long time. The dwarfs, the talking animals, the centaurs and minotaurs, and assorted stalwart denizens of Narnia, take on the evil Miraz, who has crowned himself king, and his minions. So most of the story centers around warfare of one sort or another, but it's not blood-splashing warfare.To me, the highlight of the film is when King Peter, stalling for time as much as anything because Lucy has gone to find Aslan, challenges King Miraz to single combat, with the winner to accept the total surrender of the loser. We all know Miraz won't play fair, as just before the combat starts, he whispers to his minister to use his crossbow if the battle seems to be going against Miraz. I'm not going to give anything away here, because it is pivotal to the plot as well as the most dramatic part.And don't blame me if you get to feeling maybe Narnia and Middle Earth have a great deal in common. As Joseph Campbell would doubtless point out, both are based on classical hero myths, and so it's not surprising if they seem somewhat similar, right down to the giant elemental who . . . no, won't spoil it for you.It's fun. I didn't like it quite as much as I remember liking Narnia 1, but I liked it.