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Week three of May Movie Mania brought The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The move is a worthy big screen follow up to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

This film picks up a year after the kids came home from Narina and we catch up with them just as they are about to be called back. Prince Caspian calls them to Narina’s aid to help end hundreds of years of tyranny. All has not been well in the kingdom since the kings and queens of Narina were swept back to England. Most of the Narinaians went into hiding because of a horrible, evil king.

Prince Caspian was a great adventure. I liked it just as much, if not more than the first one. It pushed all the right emotional and dramatic buttons. I’m not sure how close it stuck to the novel because it’s been too long since I’ve read them (back around the time the first film came out). One part I’m pretty sure wasn’t in the book was the White Witch showing up attempting to entice Caspian to release her. I just don’t remember that, and it didn’t entirely ring true in the film either (Will also felt like it was something that was just tossed in the film).

The battle sequences are awesome, especially as more and more of Narina’s residents wake up and join the fight. In many ways it’s a lot like the battles we saw against the White Witch in the first film, but there’s enough new stuff going on to make it thrilling.

I think the one sort of clunker here is Ben Barnes as Caspain. He’s doesn’t seem to have enough charisma to be a prince and want-to-be-king. Will and I talked about this… maybe he just doesn’t have enough to do in this movie since it’s really about Peter, Susan, Edmund and Peter. Or maybe he’s the wrong actor for the role. He wasn’t terrible, but he could’ve been better.

Overall Prince Caspain was a great summer popcorn movie, just like the other two films in May Movie Mania so far. I’m looking forward to the next installment, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in 2010. Hopefully Ben Barnes will be better in that film.

Next week: Indiana Jones!