In Theaters May 16 2008 @ 12:05 pm
REVIEW: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Directed By: Andrew Adamson
Written By: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely; from the novel by C.S. Lewis
Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Liam Neeson, Eddie Izzard
Running Time: 144 minutes
Rated PG for epic battle action and violence
Those who are of the opinion that C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia as an allegory designed to convert children to Christianity (I’m looking at you, Phillip Pullman) would be well advised to check out Prince Caspian, the latest entry in the eponymous film series (by the way, they should also look up the word “allegory”—but I digress). Make no mistake about it—Lewis, as a former atheist, wrote just as much out of doubt as he did out of faith, and his books were no mere morality plays. Caspian in particular is a dark meditation on the coming of age—the story of children realizing that fairytales simply aren’t true. At the center of it all is the question of what humanity can do when its God has left it alone on the earth. In other words, this ain’t kid stuff; nor is it particularly “religious.”
But it is truth.
And appropriately enough, Caspian is a film where the questions arguably possess more truth than the answers themselves. Keeping in line with Lewis’ dark, semi-tragic vision, the film invites viewers to draw their own conclusions. Now in the interest of full disclosure, I was a huge fan of the Narnia series as a kid (who wasn’t?), but it’s probably been at least ten years since I last read Prince Caspian. For this reason, I can’t entirely vouch for its faithfulness to the source material, but if I remember right, it’s pretty close—aside from a handful of plot truncations and thematic updates. What’s really important, though, is that Walden Media has improved upon the previous entry in the series—which was merely so-so—by leaps and bounds. The four central characters have grown tremendously as actors, the special effects have been greatly improved (though I’ll admit that the world has yet to see a truly convincing CGI mammal), the themes run much deeper and darker, and the violence—which felt a bit neutered and whitewashed in the first entry—has been ratcheted up, while somehow maintaining a PG rating (presumably, Disney fought the MPAA on this all the way down to the wire—I still have yet to see a poster or any sort of promotional material for this film that even mentions a rating). Put simply, Prince Caspian is breathtaking, moving, and exhilarating.
The story takes place 1,000 Narnian years after the events of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which roughly translates to one earth year (don’t ask me to explain this—even Lewis was far from consistent in his parallel chronologies). The Pevensie children (Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell) are returned to Narnia, only to find that it’s become a savage dystopia. Most of the original Narnians have been exterminated by a horde of humans who invaded from earth, and the (illegitimate) throne has been usurped by the evil King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), uncle of the rightful heir, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). Caspian is on the run from his uncle, and the humans are encroaching further into the territory of the remaining Narnians. And no one has seen Aslan in centuries.
Thus the conflict is set up between the believers and the skeptics—those who would continue to seek the lion and those would look for power within themselves—or in others (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton makes a chilling cameo, reprising her role as the White Witch). If The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an epic about God’s quest for man, then Prince Caspian is a meditation on man’s quest for God—and all that divides the one from the other. Caspian is not afraid to address issues like racism, war, greed, and genocide; nor does it imply that there’s an easy answer to any of these. But the central question it posits is a daunting and worthy one: Does God have to prove himself to us—or is it we who have to prove ourselves to him?
As “children’s” movies go, this is a very “adult” one, sporting some heady existential questions and some overtly sexual undertones (Anna Popplewell does nicely with the sexual empowerment that the role of Susan demands). This works greatly to its benefit, forcing the franchise to grow up, and establishing it as a philosophical and artistic powerhouse. It remains to be seen, of course, whether Disney and Walden can maintain this kind of momentum, but after seeing Caspian, I’m unreservedly rooting for them. In the meantime, the second chapter of the saga offers vivid imagination, beautiful cinematography, and an excellent cast (special shout-outs to Ben Barnes as Caspian and Eddie Izzard as the voice of Reepicheep the swashbuckling mouse)—not to mention a lot to think about. I honestly can’t recommend this film enough.
on May 17 2008 @ 9:40 am 1. K. Bowen said …
I like your take on the intellectual currents of the film. That said, I felt that the film strained for an epic sensibility that was only occasionally there. I also thought the best element of the first - the family dynamic amongst the children - was less present as well.
on May 17 2008 @ 5:13 pm 2. Luke Harrington said …
I’ll agree with that. The Narnia films lack the spontaneity and effortlessness that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy had - but to me that’s almost to be expected. Lightning never strikes twice. This series isn’t likely to become the “definitive” version of the Chronicles, but I’m not sure that it has to.
As for the family dynamic - again, I agree, but it seems somewhat appropriate since this film has stronger themes of “growing up” than the first.
Anyway, I’m definitely looking forward to the next film, as it’s one of the best books in the series and Michael Apted is directing.
on May 17 2008 @ 7:39 pm 3. Phillip Johnston said …
Hated the first one passionately. Didn’t care for what they did with the story and characters in this one.
But for some odd reason, I really enjoyed myself.
on May 20 2008 @ 2:55 pm 4. Luke Harrington said …
Out of curiosity, what did you dislike and why did you enjoy it?
(I’m pretty sure that question was part of a book report I had to write in third grade…)
on May 20 2008 @ 6:24 pm 5. Phillip Johnston said …
I posted my thoughts right after I saw the movie over at my humble blog, but suffice it say that I thought the revisions they made to Lewis’ book severely changed the motivations of the characters and the purposes of the story. The acting was decent, the visuals were superb, the score wonderful, and the battle was so much better than LWW. I liked it … I just think it has a few problems.
on May 21 2008 @ 11:31 pm 6. Matthew Lucas said …
I thought this one was more bluntly religious than the first, with its whole “Aslan has been gone for 1,300 years but now he’s back because someone had faith” plotline.
I loved the first one but this one just annoyed me. I found it to be more shallow, more action-centric, and weakly written. The Regina Spektor song that ends the film made it worse.
But I found it impossible to root for Aslan when he abandons his people to be conquered and slaughtered into near extinction. He had the power to save them, but came up with lame excuses as to why he didn’t. When you make the rules, you don’t have to abide by them.
on May 23 2008 @ 8:25 am 7. Luke Harrington said …
Well, Matthew…obviously we disagree on this one.
“Religious” is such a squishy word…it’s hard to objectively say something is “religious” and something isn’t. What’s compelling to me about this one is how closely it hews to the actual state of reality (despite its fantastical trappings) - whether Jesus is real or not, he’s not obviously present in the world now, and conquest, genocide, and all manner of evils continue unabated. You might not care for the answer Lewis (and/or Adamson) has come up with here, but you can’t deny the relevance of the question.
And lay off the Spekster. She’s cool.
on May 23 2008 @ 7:42 pm 8. Matthew Lucas said …
I don’t mind Spektor. But I definitely minded that song. It seemed totally inappropriate to the film and lifted me straight out of the movie.
on May 23 2008 @ 7:47 pm 9. Evan Derrick said …
I haven’t seen the movie or heard the song in question, but I’m going to have to go with Matthew on the general gist of what’s being discussed here. Epics should not have contemporary artists singing songs in them. Remember that one track near the end of Last of the Mohicans? Worst. Music. Choice. Ever.
on May 23 2008 @ 7:49 pm 10. Phillip Johnston said …
Yeah. They should have kept it for the end credits and ended with a final flourish from Gregson-Williams. It’s a great song, though. I’m quite fond of it.
on Jun 12 2008 @ 3:41 pm 11. Luke Harrington said …
I caught the film again this past weekend, and I have to say I’m still in favor of how they used the song. It’s arguable that this sort of music didn’t exist in 1950s England, but all the same, I think it provides an excellent transition from the fantasy realm to reality (and hence from childhood to adulthood). There’s definitely room for disagreement here, but it really didn’t bother me.
Are you all this vehemently opposed to Enya’s “May It Be” (used in The Fellowship of the Ring)as well?
on Jul 17 2008 @ 12:27 am 12. James said …
Aloha,
@ Luke:
Just adding my two cents here. I, for one, have absolutely no objection to Enya’s “May It Be” being in, “The Fellowship Of The Ring”. Incidentally, I have since added that song to my iPod, and it’s been there ever since. However, please consider that the only place that the song could’ve been included was at the end. It wouldn’t have fit in anywhere else.
There are of course, drawbacks. Consider “A Knight’s Tale”. Although the movie was set in medieval times, pop music was in full swing at several points in the film. The change was so jarring that I almost left the theater.
Another blatant example: Scorcese’s “Gangs of New York”, supposedly a period piece set in the 19th Century. Lo and behold, during the film, I found myself suddenly listening to rock music… Disorienting, to say the least.
In short, I have no qualms about a director using a song to fit within the contexts of a scene. But then again, having not seen “Prince Caspian”, I have no idea as to what song was used and what context in which it was used. So, I shall reserve judgment for this particular instance.
Mahalo,
James
on Jul 17 2008 @ 12:38 am 13. James said …
I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier, but also consider “Moulin Rouge” which has become one of my favorite musicals EVER.