The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian documents the four Pevensie childrens’ second journey into Narnia, and what has been one year on earth has, for the world through the wardrobe, been over a thousand. The quartet of adolescents have been called back to aid a prince restore his throne and ultimately to restore Narnia to the Narnians from the clutches of a usurper.
Due to its epic-yet-family-friendly scope, this film is an odd combination of empowering children’s fairytale and adult action movie. Unfortunately it accomplishes neither aim and the resulting stew is violent yet bloodless. It’s the Saturday Morning Special version of 300, right down to the warriors’ helmets and their fighting style, but with a troupe of children leading the Spartan -- I mean Narnian -- charge.
All of the actors are serviceable, but they really don’t need to be much more, given that they are mainly used as facilitators for the set-piece battles and as mouthpieces for plot devices. Prince Caspian, played by Ben Barnes, is very fluffily pretty and honorable but with the exception of his distractingly strange accent, he is entirely milquetoast. The four Pevensies, as well, are strikingly non-striking. Generally, they are defined by their most prevalent trait: Lucy is pious and hopeful, Edmund is snarky, Susan is pragmatic, and Peter tries to be brave. The villain, as all villains should, is defined mainly by his perfectly pointy facial hair. The most memorable characters are, ironically, those most heavily buried under make-up or entirely working through an animatronic creation. Peter Dinklage, as a crusty dwarf, especially establishes a human connection where most of the other characters fail.
But enough chat about the people! For as much as the original Narnia novels are about the human effects of faith, greed, and other big-ticket issues, the movies are about monsters, battles, and other big-ticket effects. Luckily, these effects are much improved from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, so the film is a visual feast, although moreso in the more personal scenes than in the epic battles. When the focus is tighter -- dancing naiads made of flower-petals, impressively creepy old hawk-women, etc. -- the effects are smoother and are actually more awe-inspiring than grand-scale charges and death en masse.
Where the movie as a whole, and the actors individually, succeed, however, is in the depiction of a quintet of very unlikely heroes. These are not powerful warriors -- and in fact, they don’t even turn into them -- they are, all in all, scared little kids. Even though the Pevensies have previously become renowned as Narnian leaders (on their last excursion through the wardrobe) they are still unsure of themselves and act as any group of children would act. They argue, they get scared, and when things go right, it seems to do so almost in spite of their (often fear-driven) bad choices. In the Lewis book on which this movie is based, the distinction is between Lucy (who has faith in Aslan) and the older children (who rely on themselves and on secular reason), but in this adaptation, it is the childrens’ immaturity that really comes through. Even Lucy, for all of her faith, is, for most of the film, impotent against the forces allied against the Narnians.
The most striking scene in this movie is a duel between the villainous king and Peter, the oldest of the Pevensie children. This is not a heroic, wise-cracks-and-blaring-trumpets duel, but is instead sweaty and wearying, soundtracked by the heavy slithering of chainmail. As is to be expected Good wins out, but it is more a respite than a triumph. This scene works superficially to prove Peter’s prowess, but also stands as an elegant depiction of strength mustered despite fear. For once, it is pure human resolution that triumphs, and that resonates more strongly than any amount of computer-generated effects.
Overall, Prince Caspian would be a worthwhile rental for middle-school children and those charmed by the prospect of centaurs, fauns, gryphons, and other beautifully-constructed creatures.
Oh yea, and Aslan shows up, either (take your pick): as a testament to the power of faith even in the darkest times, or as deus ex machina. For a film based on such a theologically-dense book, this is a surprisingly secular adaptation.
7/10
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