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Top Critics (39)
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Fresh (126)
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DVD (15)
Squanders both its first-rate computer graphics and its sturdy international cast.
Adamson barrels the action along in an even-handed manner that should keep most of the family happy.
Too many fights, not enough magic.
At every turn, the filmmakers go for clutter and tumult where simplicity would do -- and Adamson, to put it kindly, isn't the fleetest of action directors.
Prince Caspian may be less full of innocent wonder than its predecessor, but it is a smarter, better film. Like its young stars, the Narnia franchise has, for better and worse, grown up.
I wish I could be more enthusiastic about Prince Caspian, an honorable and attractive adventure for children and families. But scenic beauty and spirited action can't conceal its dramatic defects.
It's a relatively entertaining romp, but it would be surprising if anyone is counting down the days until the third movie.
Adamson seems to have decided the great battle at the end of the previous film was its best part and has set out to recapture it but more so, leading to some truly outstanding set pieces, but resulting in a film that is less than the sum of its parts.
Caspian is a visual sleeper hold from frame one; a constipated effort to erect widescreen wonderment, yet the production is missing dimension and needed narrative gusto.
Darker, more complex and less prone to the cutesy wow-factor, this is a gripping tale with a thoughtful message.
The body count is high, the running time is particularly long for a children's film, and the themes are fairly heavy. But, like Wardrobe, it's a lush and mostly entertaining production.
Most of C.S. Lewis's peculiar magic is lost.
Excessively violent but oddly dull...a Crusades allegory for teeny-boppers
The creakiness of the plot mechanics and the light condescension I detect don't have me looking forward to the third Narnia movie.
...the opening hour essentially proceeds at a crawl...
Narnia fans will devour this film. Casual fans should enjoy it as well. If you had fun watching the first film, this DVD is definitely worth a look or more.
Andrew Adamson shows a more confident and defined vision that works on several levels, however it's unable to overcome a nagging feel of disconnect.
Both the three-disc collector's edition DVD and the three-disc Blu-ray version are loaded with enough features to almost make you forget that the film is disappointing.
It's unfair to characterize it as Lord of the Rings-Light, but it's difficult to avoid that conclusion after watching this earnest but seriously under-inspired effort.
just as Lewis's books were better received by children, this film series is certainly more kid-friendly than Peter Jackson's versions of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
It's entertaining, value-for-money stuff.
If crossbows, strange creatures, and a squeaky-clean young cast are the right elements for a fantasy sequel, then this naive epic is your movie.
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