Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Movie

Starring

Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Sergio Castellitto, Peter Dinklage, Warwick Davis, Vincent Grass, Pierfrancesco Favino, and more.

Plot

The Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy are summoned back to Narnia by Prince Caspian to save Narnia and his thrown.

Review

In Prince Caspian, the Pevensie children have returned to England to live a normal life but find themselves struggling. It’s been one year since they left Narnia and they cannot shake the fact that they’ve fought pure evil and won, that they’ve lived an entire lifetime as princes and princesses, and that their lives were anything but ordinary. And just when they’re reading to live with their fate, they are magically taken back to Narnia to fight for their kingdom once more.

Upon arriving in Narnia, the children are shocked to discover that the Narnians have gone into hiding since their departure, that the Telmarines have taken over the country, and that it has been 1,500 years since they’ve last stepped foot on Narnian soil. And it doesn’t take long for the children to go into “battle mode” as they prepare to fight the Telmarines and get back the land that rightfully belongs to the Narnians. Will they succeed or will strife within their own ranks put an end to the Narnians once and for all?

If you haven’t seen the first film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, I advise you to buy or rent it before watching this film. While you can get away without doing so, you’ll become confused at certain points if you haven’t watched the first—or at least read C.W. Lewis’ book, The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe.

Some have argued that the film does not compare to The Lord of The Rings series and therefore find it full of short comings cinematically, I disagree. I think the film was beautifully put together, cinematically. It’s very realistic of the times and offers a lot visually.

Some have argued that this film lacks substance since the sole focus of the film concentrates on the battle between the Narnians and the Telmarines and doesn’t develop beyond the battle. And I must agree. As the battle between the Narnians and the Telmarines pursues, there is another battle brewing between Prince Peter and Prince Caspian that never gets addressed, let alone resolved. And the children’s characters just don’t seem to live up to their full potentials.

Peter appears to have developed a temper since leaving Narnia and that temper causes him to make poor decisions, including one that costs the lives of hundreds of Narnians. Susan, while ready to fight for her beliefs seems to have lost her faith in Aslan and appears to be very dissatisfied having to live in England. Edmond isn’t given much a role in the film, other than to show off his battle skills. And Lucy’s faith, while still in tact, never gets addressed: why was it so important that she be the one have faith? Then later, towards the end of the film, Aslan appears to give the Narnians a winning edge over the Telmarines and pulls Peter and Susan aside to have a very important discussion—one that calms Peter’s temper and gives Susan a reason to find pleasure living in England—only we never hear the discussion and are left wondering what happened to the rest of the film.

That being said, this is a fun family film full of adventure. And one can see that it was together for young children and their parents—parents who long to provide their children with more wholesome, family-oriented films.

If you haven’t seen the film, I encourage you to check it out. Despite its substance flaw, it’s a remarkable film that deserves a viewing by every family in America. And the 3-Disc collector’s edition offers some fun stuff like an audio commentary (which my kids always love), a bloopers real, and short documentaries like, Becoming Trumpkin, Talking Animals, and the Sets of Narnia. There’s also a digital file for computers and iPods.

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