The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – Film Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is an improvement over the original Narnia film. Indeed, Prince Caspian features a more mature storyline and actors who avoid most (if not all) of the juvenile acting issues that plagued the first film. Additionally, this film has a stronger, more poignant message that makes the film much more valuable and meaningful. Along with a darker, more disturbing presentation (and despite some rather obvious parallels to The Lord of the Rings, the end result is a movie that is well worth your time.

Some of the weakest moments of the film accompany its introductory scenes. We begin with a bit of backstory in Narnia where the birth of a boy leads to danger for a young prince, named Caspian, who, carrying Susan’s horn, barely escapes from the castle and flees into a foreboding forest. Once there, he runs afoul of some dwarves, blows the horn and we are transported back to England in time to see Peter in a rather heated scuffle. In short order, after establishing that the Pevensie children have had trouble readjusting to life in England, they are transported back to Narnia. And from here, the film really hits its stride.

The children arrive in a Narnia that is set centuries in the future. They slowly discover that much of what they once knew about their beloved kingdom has changed. Indeed, the palace at Cair Paravel is little more than crumbling ruins – bearing the distinct markings of invasion. To the film’s credit, it quite plausibly establishes the disorientation and sense of loss that the children feel as they discover the ruin of their once glorious kingdom.

More importantly, this sense of a world that is ancient and crumbling is the beginning of some important thematic work, focusing on the importance of seeing the world through eyes of wonder and innocence. It is quite easy to become jaded and hardened to the world, particularly as we mature from children into adults. But the need to see each day as new and fresh and full of potential is crucial to renewing not just the world around us – but to renewing our spirit as well.

True, the film doesn’t present this notion in the most artistic of forms – the primary vehicle happens to be Lucy – but the impact and importance of the idea is not diminished.
From here, the movie follows a narrative that builds to the inevitable confrontation between the Narnians and the Telmarine invaders. It’s important to note that the Telmarines are portrayed as greedy, duplicitous, adults, while the younger, more nobly-spirited Narnians are poopulated by animals, mythical creatures, and the Pevensie children. So while the Narnians themselves aren’t without villainous forces, there is a distinct and deliberate difference in how they portrayed — a contrast which reinforces the film’s central theme of innocence.

It’s no coincidence that Lucy is the first one to see Aslan, that the noblest of Telmarines is the young Prince Caspian, or that the elder Peter is prideful and arrogant. It is only by resisting temptation (represented by a ghostly reappearance of the White Witch) and having blind faith (in Aslan, of course), can the world of Narnia be saved from the threat of Telmarine invasion. One can only do this if, like Lucy, one is innocent and pure enough of heart. And as we learn in the final scene, both Peter and Susan, being the older siblings, will have grown beyond their ability to return to the wonder of Narnia — they must use their childhood lessons to build a fulfilling adult life.

It’s interesting, too, that a film about youthful innocence is presented in a much darker and grittier form than its predecessor. If nothing else, Prince Caspian is a more (though not completely) mature film. And when the story of invasion and salvation is combined with the portrayal of a Narnia in decay, the result is a film that quite successfully evokes a mood of ancient wonder — in contrast to the “newness” felt in the previous film.

But Prince Caspian is far from perfect and the problems have more to do with execution than in its purpose. The performances aren’t especially strong. It’s true that the Pevensie children are better at their craft than in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. But there are awkward expressions and deliveries. Prince Caspian is a little better, but he doesn’t avoid the problems that plague the Pevensie children, either. The soundtrack is, at times, moving; it can be awkward, too. And then there is problem of having a literal (and expected) deus ex machina.

As the film marches toward its inevitable Big Final Battle™ it’s not that difficult to realize that Aslan will appear to save the day. It makes sense within the thematic context of the movie — the children and Prince Caspian must not only believe fully in Aslan, they must act on that belief — but from a cinematic standpoint, the idea is flawed. We know that the battle (beginning with Peter’s duel with the Telmarine king) is meant to be merely a delay until Lucy reaches Aslan. But the sense of real danger is minimized by the knowledge that Lucy has to find Aslan and Aslan has to save the day. More interesting would have been for Aslan to be entirely absent and the Narnians to have won the battle entirely on their own — but that, of course, would have run entirely counter to the entire purpose of the film.

As it stands, Aslan’s intervention also loses some of its impact because we’ve seen this before: Aslan wakes up the Narnian trees which, in turn, decimate the Telmarine troops. Sound a bit like the Ents? It ought to. The same holds true for Aslan and Lucy cutting off the Telmarine retreat at a river ford. As the Telmarine’s attempt to cross the river, Aslan summons a flood which wipes out the army and their leader — not unlike what happens when Arwen faces off against the Nazgul in Fellowship of the Ring. The contrived ending, the similarities to other films, and the cliché pop-song montage rob the film of a gratifying and indelible ending.

Overall Grade: C+

Prince Caspian is certainly an improvement for the Chronicles of Narnia film series. The performances are better, the story is more mature, and the overall mood of the film is engaging. But even with the progression, there are still issues which the film is unable to overcome. The result is an above-average offering that is not quite a classic.

Topics: Fantasy, Film Review
Filed under: Narnia