Prince Caspian

Let’s get one thing out of the way, right from the top: the Narnia series will never equal The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Deal with it. Tolkien’s books are just more epic whereas CS Lewis' books are much more accessible, especially to younger readers. I guess this is why many reviewers are in a tizzy concerning the violent battle sequences found in Prince Caspian. But those scenes are in the book, it’s not like the Narnians are having tea parties and dancing around the maypole in Lewis’ fantasy novels. Sure, the scenes may seem a little graphic at times but I don’t think the movies, or the books for that matter, are intended for six year olds. Prince Caspian is a darker story, and it’s meant to be. So going into this film, I was prepared for something a little more savage. I think Prince Caspian delivers what it set out to do, but I still find myself wanting more.

Just so you know, I did like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Most of the images matched what I dreamt of while reading these stories as a child. The story was pretty accurate, some of the creatures looked fantastic and there was some fine acting all around. Most people I talk to are bothered by the CGI Aslan, but I don’t know how they could possibly make a talking lion demonstrate any more personality. Maybe they want to go the Mr. Ed route and get a real lion and feed him peanut butter so he has to keep smacking his gums to mimic speaking. I liked Aslan in both movies. My biggest problem with Lion and Caspian is that I don’t find myself rooting for the children. The acting is all well and good but they aren’t dynamic enough for me to care if they live or die. That can’t be good. To be fair, in Lion I thought Lucy was adorable, but then again, who didn’t. In Prince Caspian, I actually found myself liking Edmund a whole lot more. He seems to be the one who has matured the most. Peter is still annoying with his bossiness, Susan doesn’t show much emotion and Lucy’s cuteness is starting to wane. But enough comparison, let’s just look at Prince Caspian.

I really liked some of the supporting characters in this movie. Peter Dinklage (Station Agent, Elf) is outstanding as the cynical dwarf, Trumpkin. I was hoping for a lot more lines from him; I seem to remember the book having him pipe in a whole lot more. In the books, I never liked Reepicheep the valiant mouse. In Prince Caspian, this character is awesome. It’s probably because he’s snarkily voiced by the amazing Eddie Izzard. I’m actually looking forward to Reepicheep’s role in Voyage of the Dawn Treader now. Another thing I liked about this film was its use of magic. The power and beauty of the magic scenes are expertly photographed. I wish there were more but the book focuses on more battles than mystical events. I also liked the castle raid sequence that wasn’t in the novel. Some nice action there.

There were a few things that didn’t work for me in Prince Caspian. First, I didn’t think that King Miraz was evil enough. Sure he hit a couple of people but he was no White Witch. Nice pointy beard though. Second, the centaur bodies seemed a lot more disproportionate this time around. Way too much upper body. Maybe they evolved in the 1300 years. Lastly, some the storytelling elements seemed unoriginal, which is more a criticism of the books rather than Andrew Adamson’s directing. The fighting trees look cribbed from LOTR, so does the river sequence. Both are in the book though, so blame Lewis. I also found the basic plot of taking back the kingdom a little ho-hum. I would have liked a few more sub-plots interwoven in the story.

A couple of things you can blame Adamson for is first, the bland casting of Prince Caspian. Ben Barnes and his indistinguishable European accent smack of Orlando Bloom. And that’s not a compliment. I wish Caspian was more charismatic rather than a matinee teen idol who waves his locks of hair in the wind. You can also blame Adamson for the lame attraction between Susan and Caspian. Whoa, that love story didn’t work at all! It seemed like a desperate attempt to get young girls into the theatre. And what was with the closing song before the credits? I wanted to gag. What a way to ruin the ending to an otherwise fine flick.

Overall, I would have to say that I enjoyed Prince Caspian despite some missing elements. With both its magic and battle sequences, it is definitely a film to watch on the big screen. It’s also a very colourful film which I find refreshing among the dark images found in most other films. Prince Caspian is a worthy follow-up to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Bring the family. But maybe not the six year olds.