The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
(B or 3/4 stars)
A new age has begun in 'Prince Caspian', the 2nd film of the Chronicles of Narnia series, directed again by Andrew Adamson. The 4 Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, & Lucy (William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley) return to Narnia only to discover that 1300 yrs. have passed since their reign. Apparently, the Telmarines, led by evil King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), have since been in charge. It was Susan's magic horn which pulled the foursome back to Narnia. And it did so that they could help overthrow Miraz, and restore the rightful heir to Narnia's throne, his exiled nephew ... Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes, of Stardust). While the story itself is not as strong as this film's predecessor, there's still enough action, excitement, & intrigue to keep you in awe.
Your pulse will be racing straight away when Dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass) wakes Prince Caspian and aids in his escape from his villainous Uncle Miraz. You see, now that Miraz has a baby boy, Caspian is marked for certain death. Now that he's fled into Narnia's abandoned forest, Caspian finds ambiguous friends in a talking badger, a dwarf named Trumpkin (a great Peter Dinklage), and a heroic mouse named Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). Caspian's blow on a mysterious horn is enough to summon help from the 'Kings & Queens of old'. Now transported from current day England, the Pevensies wonder why they've been brought back to their previous kingdom (Cair Paravel), which now lies in ruins.
They 'also' meet Trumpkin, who explains to them the current struggle btwn. Miraz & Caspian. But even though Miraz's soldiers are eager to kill Caspian and anybody who aids him ... the Pevensie's wonder why they should help Caspian, descendant of a long line of 'Telmarines' who banished the mystical creatures of Narnia in the first place. But after meeting Caspian, they find him an earnest & respectful leader. And realizing that his rule could restore the many birds & beasts of Narnia to their rightful home, they have faith that helping him is the right thing to do. But how do they overcome Miraz's treachery? Surely they don't have the same number of allies to combat this foe. The all powerful Aslan could help. But no one's seen him; no one except Lucy, of course. Will he help? Can he help?
I don't know much of the book. I know it isn't lengthy. I know it's heavy on religious allegories. And I know that the 'battles' in the book are beefed up for this 138 min. movie. I really can't compare the 2 mediums. With that out of the way, let's discuss the film's strengths & weaknesses. On a good note: this is a grand scale, glorious epic adventure. And on an intimate scale (not much is, and it's surface emotion), we at least understand the conflicts of these men, women, & creatures ... and what's at stake. It's wonderful that humans, centaurs, minotaurs, & other various animals are all in this together.
I was happy to see the Pevensies back (though some of them are more effective in their roles than others). I like how Peter's personality translates from 1940's England to other world Narnia. He's a young but commanding presence in both worlds. Ben Barnes, as Caspian, is a striking figure. He's the one we'll remember most from this movie. And I'm always glad to hear Liam Neeson's soothing baritone, as Aslan. The special effects (the sword & sorcery battle sequences are well-choreographed & superbly edited), costumes, make-up, sound editing, & dream-like musical score all fuse to make an exhilarating, top notch onscreen display. By the end of the lengthy film (pros and cons to that), I was invested in everyone's dutiful purposes.
But I do have minor complaints: 1) Miraz (and subplots surrounding him) is a fairly ineffective villain. Comparing him to the last film's White Witch (Tilda Swinton), he doesn't hold a candle to her. 2) The tone of the film is necessarily dark, but too muted, at times. 3) The plot of 'Prince Caspian' isn't quite as engrossing as the 1st film installment. Adamson was forced to create something magical out of lesser dramatic content (and stunted character development). Considering all of this, I still think he did a very good job. 'The Chronicles of Narnia' is not as in-depth, nor as impressive as The Lord of the Ring, or Harry Potter series. But it still provides loveable characters, interesting themes, exciting action, and wondrous visuals to behold.
Your pulse will be racing straight away when Dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass) wakes Prince Caspian and aids in his escape from his villainous Uncle Miraz. You see, now that Miraz has a baby boy, Caspian is marked for certain death. Now that he's fled into Narnia's abandoned forest, Caspian finds ambiguous friends in a talking badger, a dwarf named Trumpkin (a great Peter Dinklage), and a heroic mouse named Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). Caspian's blow on a mysterious horn is enough to summon help from the 'Kings & Queens of old'. Now transported from current day England, the Pevensies wonder why they've been brought back to their previous kingdom (Cair Paravel), which now lies in ruins.
They 'also' meet Trumpkin, who explains to them the current struggle btwn. Miraz & Caspian. But even though Miraz's soldiers are eager to kill Caspian and anybody who aids him ... the Pevensie's wonder why they should help Caspian, descendant of a long line of 'Telmarines' who banished the mystical creatures of Narnia in the first place. But after meeting Caspian, they find him an earnest & respectful leader. And realizing that his rule could restore the many birds & beasts of Narnia to their rightful home, they have faith that helping him is the right thing to do. But how do they overcome Miraz's treachery? Surely they don't have the same number of allies to combat this foe. The all powerful Aslan could help. But no one's seen him; no one except Lucy, of course. Will he help? Can he help?
I don't know much of the book. I know it isn't lengthy. I know it's heavy on religious allegories. And I know that the 'battles' in the book are beefed up for this 138 min. movie. I really can't compare the 2 mediums. With that out of the way, let's discuss the film's strengths & weaknesses. On a good note: this is a grand scale, glorious epic adventure. And on an intimate scale (not much is, and it's surface emotion), we at least understand the conflicts of these men, women, & creatures ... and what's at stake. It's wonderful that humans, centaurs, minotaurs, & other various animals are all in this together.
I was happy to see the Pevensies back (though some of them are more effective in their roles than others). I like how Peter's personality translates from 1940's England to other world Narnia. He's a young but commanding presence in both worlds. Ben Barnes, as Caspian, is a striking figure. He's the one we'll remember most from this movie. And I'm always glad to hear Liam Neeson's soothing baritone, as Aslan. The special effects (the sword & sorcery battle sequences are well-choreographed & superbly edited), costumes, make-up, sound editing, & dream-like musical score all fuse to make an exhilarating, top notch onscreen display. By the end of the lengthy film (pros and cons to that), I was invested in everyone's dutiful purposes.
But I do have minor complaints: 1) Miraz (and subplots surrounding him) is a fairly ineffective villain. Comparing him to the last film's White Witch (Tilda Swinton), he doesn't hold a candle to her. 2) The tone of the film is necessarily dark, but too muted, at times. 3) The plot of 'Prince Caspian' isn't quite as engrossing as the 1st film installment. Adamson was forced to create something magical out of lesser dramatic content (and stunted character development). Considering all of this, I still think he did a very good job. 'The Chronicles of Narnia' is not as in-depth, nor as impressive as The Lord of the Ring, or Harry Potter series. But it still provides loveable characters, interesting themes, exciting action, and wondrous visuals to behold.