The world of fantasy is what my heart desires sometimes , the few times when I want to stay in the dreamland forever…and those times when I yearn to be a kid again living in a fairlyland or maybe a place like Narnia.
Sometimes you just go and watch a movie just for the heck of it; probably because you are tired of hearing about it so many times or your curiosity overrides your prejudices; and hence any one or all of the reasons drove me to watch this flick which I had no great expectations from. And since I had not watched the first part; I was not hoping to enjoy it much .But Life is full of surprises and to my astonishment I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
Prince Caspian the contender to the throne ,has to flee from his kingdom to save his life from his Uncle Miraz ,The reason being that his aunt has given birth to a son who would serve the long nurtured ambition of his Uncle to rule the kingdom. Prince Caspian’s mentor helps him escape the kingdom and gives him a horn which has to be blown only in emergencies.
In trying to escape Caspian accidentally stumbles in the lost land of Narnia and in nervousness of coming face to face with two elves blows the horn.
The Horn brings back the lost Kings and Queens of Narnia from their present world in UK. King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Susan. and Queen Lucyare ecstatic to be back to their world. But they still need to figure out the reason and rationale to be bought back to the world.
And hereon begins a journey of the foursome in rediscovering their world, the world where trees used to dance at one time, where animals were near human and could speak as well. The world of their ideal lion Aslan, a perfect world of their dreams which have been destroyed by Miraz.
And now they need to save the Narnians and bestow them their rightful place and an added duty of bequeathing Prince Caspian with his throne.
It is a perfect narration of Courage, lost hopes regained, determination and belief of a Girl in her ideal.
The journey of Narnia awes you, brings the child within you alive and I remember I did gasp at few places by the amazing special effects.
In process we get to see some lovely locales and cinematography.
The choice of locales and the special effects used in the movie are amazing:
The scenes mentionable are:
>The scene when the Kings and Queens are in the boat on way to Narnia
>The scene where Queen Lucy dreams about dancing with the beautiful pink petals.
>The scene where she comes face to face with her ideal Lion Aslan
>The instance when Prince Caspian is surrounded by half men-horses.
>The scene of soldiers being carried by hawks to attack the palace.
>The scene where the elf tries to lure Prince Caspian to turn evil and creates the sheath of ice.
The acting skills were contemporary and do not deserve much detailing:
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is charming, bold, courageous and decently carried out the role given to him. Though for once I felt that he was too young to carry this role till I saw the other Kings and Queens.
King Peter(William Moseley) who seems to be the eldest of the foursome, reminded me of Prince Williams of Diana. And I felt that this character is going to be about all looks and no substance. But he did carry out the role well. He is the strength of the group
King Edmund(Skandar Keynes) seems the non serious one and irresponsible too, till he proves his mettle by saving Prince Caspian from falling in the hands of evil sheath. And he is of course the brain of the group.
Queen Susan.(Anna Popplewell) is a lovely lass and equally courageous. Her shooting skills are excellent. Prince Caspian nurtures a crush for her which she effectively evades. She is the courage of the group.
Queen Lucy(Georgie Henley)seems a tiny girl but is strongest in her beliefs. She stronly believes in the presence of her ideal Lion Aslan. She carries a magic potion which brings people to life. She depicts belief and life in the group.
Adding to these there is a couple of elves namely Trumpkinand Nikabrik, cute as a button and yet possesses sharp minds.
A mouse Reepicheep,tiny yet stronger than hundred warriors put together.
A Lion Aslan who is their ideal and fills up the screen with his presence.
On and on the movie is a must watch for a wonderful trip to the fantasy world. The world of Narnia where the face maybe evil but the hearts are made of Gold. Go out to watch it for the unusual tricks and creatures, their lives, hopes and survivals attached with the Kingdom.
The movie is based on book by C.S. Lewiswhich goes by the same title.
The movie ended with a mesmerizing soundtrack by Switchfoot:
I've got my memories, They're always
Inside of me, But I can't go back
Back to how it was, I believe now
I've seen too much, But I can't go back
Back to how it was, Created for a place
I've never known
This is home, Now I'm finally
Where I belong, Where I belong
Yeah, this is home, I've been searching
For a place of my own, Now I've found it
Maybe this is home, Yeah, this is home
No matter what kind of cinema you love or enjoy … I have just one thing to say “Just take a break…be a kid again”
mY rAtiNg:3.5 stars
