Movie Review: Take another trip to Narnia

Ah, summer movie season’s in full swing, and that means it time to stop and smell the fantasy.

Audiences can’t get enough Potter or “Lord of the Rings” fodder.

A mix of magic and fright, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” aka “Narnia 2,” is sure to satisfy all those daydreamers’ appetites.

It’s been a year since the Pevensie siblings wandered through the wardrobe closet into the magical land known as Narnia. They are trying to accept the fact that they must live in the real world as students, even if they are the kings and queens of old in another time and place. Just as reality is settling in, the foursome is summoned back to the land they love so much.

Thirteen hundred Narnian years have passed, and a lot has changed. Narnia has fallen under the rule of the horrid King Miraz and his army of Telmarines. Everything is in ruins, no one’s to be seen and the trees haven’t talked in years. The situation’s so blight, even the White Witch’s presence would bring a modicum of delight.

Stuck in King Miraz’s devious inner circle is his noble nephew, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). Caspian’s had to live under his uncle’s tutelage since his father passed away and he’s sick of his bloodthirsty ways. After escaping the castle that’s acted like a prison for so many years, Caspian happens upon a magical horn, blows it, and (unbeknownst to Caspian) the Pevensies are brought back to hopefully aid in saving the day.

With the knight mouse Reepicheep (Eddie Izzard voices) by his side, Caspian embarks upon a journey to save himself and finds out his mission is much more epic in nature along the way. Across the land, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are fighting battles in search of an answer as to what happened to their beloved kingdom. When the adventurers plus their allies (look for stellar performances from Warwick Davis from “Willow” and Peter Dinklage of “Nip/Tuck“) finally unite they make for a heck of a misfit, Justice League fantasy team.

This one must have escaped with the PG rating by the hairs on Aslon’s chinny chin chin. With a running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes, war scene after pummeling war scene might be a bit much for those not yet in their teens. Instead of tea parties and lion taming, the follow-up to “Narnia” has dwarfs, centaurs and mice going to battle alongside soldiers. There are many lessons to be learned from this harsher Narnia, though, so those that can handle it should go.

If Narnia 1 is kind of like “The Wizard of Oz” with its mixture of mystery and magic, then Narnia 2 is similar to “Return to Oz,” in that it’s an eerie, warped version of the original altogether. But like the great Aslon says, “Things never happen the same way twice.”

You take the good, you take the bad.

Adrienne Mackey is a freelance movie reviewer. Hear her talk a lot more about movies on “The KLPX WakeUp Call with Scott Barnett” weekday mornings from 5 to 10 a.m. on 96.1 KLPX.