I didn't exactly know what to expect from The Chronic-What-Cles-Of-Narnia 2. Of course, the key to watching these C.S. Lewis recreations is separating the novel from the movie. I was extremely impressed by The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. But the reason this saga differs from those of Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings is the religious background to the story. Well, nearly every movie takes bits and pieces from the Bible. I'm starting to notice it. Any person who spent at least a week of their life in religious school will see the hidden meaning to the characters and stories present. I'm not going to get into it, but it's there, and it's plentiful. And the sequel has even more. If you aren't up to date on the story of Moses freeing his people and parting the sea, I'd go look into it before seeing this one. To me, they practically throw that story in your face as the movie approaches its close. You'll know what I'm speaking of when you see it. The only real way to describe this sequel is to call it Chronicles of Narnia: Bible Lore Galore.

So what did I think of the sequel, then? One of the better sequels I've seen in a few years. Of course, once The Dark Knight comes out in 59 days (yea, I have a countdown, what about it?!) it will get pushed way down the list. Nevertheless, Narnia 2 far surpassed my almost non-existent expectations. While the beginning of the movie attacked the viewers' nostalgia, the movie quickly became its own unique story. So why are they back? This is the question most will be curious to have answered. Well it comes quickly enough as Prince Caspian's character becomes our central figure to the film. Beyond the interesting characters that will always be present in this saga, Narnia 2 is better than the original because it is just a straight-up war film. That's what kept me interested. Specifically, the entire 2nd half of the film.

What went wrong then? There is a 1-on-1 fight (I won't spoil it by naming the characters) that had a chance to make the top 10 list even though it was a day late. The premise to this fight built up throughout the entire film, yet when it was over, I just didn't really feel blown away by it. They definitely tried. Between all the slow-mo it was hard to really get the intensity that was intended. I can't say I didn't love the boxing homage halfway through the fight when both essentially "took their corners." Although the fight could have been the pinnacle of this film, it did not take away from the film or the plot. Other than this, the ending was a bit confusing as to their goal for the third film, but I trust movie producers to take the right path.

All in all, Prince Caspian was much better than I had expected considering I'm not a die-hard Narnia fan. I enjoyed the entire film, from beginning to end, and I think you will too. For that, it gets a tip of the cap.

  out of 5 trophies