Narnia begins with a scene in which Prince Caspian’s (Ben Barnes) cousin is being born. This unfortunately presents a problem for Caspian, as his uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) immediately sends men to kill him, so that his own son will be the next heir to the throne.
Caspian is warned by his Doctor Cornelius (Vincent Grass), his tutor, and after hiding in the closet and watching the guards stab at his empty bed, he goes on the run. All is going well, until a branch knocks him off his horse and two trolls approach, swords drawn. When Caspian reaches for his horn to blow for help, one of the trolls knock him unconscious.
The scene cuts to the Pevensie siblings, with Susan (Anna Popplewell) trying to evade a classmate who has a crush on her. Suddenly Lucy (Georgie Henley) runs up to tell her that Peter (William Moseley) has gotten into a fight, giving Susan a reason to quickly escape the situation.
After the fight, the siblings get a strange but familiar sensation while waiting in the Subway for their train. “It feels like magic!” exclaims Lucy. The four of them hold hands, and are transported back to Narnia.
While joyously running on the beach and splashing in the nearby water, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) asks where they think they are. They assume Narnia, but Edmund remind them that “Narnia didn’t have ruins.” But they are indeed in Narnia, but while it’s only been a year since they were last here, it has been one thousand years in Narnian time.
Back at the castle, Miraz is dodging accusations that he had Caspian killed so his own son could be the heir. Instead, Miraz is trying to convince everyone that the Narnians, who everyone believed had vanished, have kidnapped Caspian, and that the army needs to go to war against the remaining Narnians in order to rescue Prince Caspian.
The siblings ascertain that they were called back to Narnia by Prince Caspian’s horn, a talisman of deep magic that will recall the “kings and queens of old” back to Narnia. It had belonged to Susan when the four had previously been in Narnia. When the four of them meet Prince Caspian, they agree they will do what they can to help him.
Tilda Swinton is back in a cameo in her role as the White Witch, and plays her character with a sinister seductiveness. Unfortunately, her appearance onscreen is no more than ten or fifteen minutes long.
Prince Caspian keeps up the pace the first film established, but includes elements that remind viewers that the siblings are maturing. One of these has to do with Susan and Prince Caspian, who take an obvious liking to each other. The viewers are also reminded that, due to their increasing age, Susan and Peter will not return to Narnia, or see Aslan again.
Overall, Prince Caspian is a welcome addition to the Chronicles of Narnia films. It has better acting and storyline than the first, and it provides a strong foundation for the next installment of the series, which will also feature Prince Caspian, and the younger Pevensies, Edmund and Lucy.
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
- Directed By: Andrew Adamson
- Based on a Novel Written By: C.S. Lewis
- Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley
- Running Time: 150 minutes
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