REVIEW: ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ (2008)

Writer-director Andrew Adamson buffs up his second big-screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ “Narnia” series with a leaner story, grittier action and more sophisticated fight choreography from sword master and emerging fight choreographer Allan Poppleton.

PRINCE CASPIAN continues where THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE left off. It has been one year in our world since the four Pevensie children left the magical realm of Narnia and 1300 years within when they are called back to aid the title character, played by Ben Barnes, regain his rightful throne and defend the magical Narnians who are threatened by the usurper Miraz (Sergio Castellitto).

Like recent HARRY POTTER films, PRINCE CASPIAN is a more mature children’s movie where the young heroes are drawn in to a violent and dark conflict against not only an army of armored swordsmen, spearmen and knights but against efforts by several wayward Narnians using dark arts to bring back the White Witch.

Despite an emphasis on action, it’s good to see that Lewis’ Christian themes remain in place as the main dramatic angle when Lucy leads the four children in retaining her faith in Aslan (Liam Neeson) who represents Christ. Faith is a key element of the story that shows up repeatedly for a number of characters including a dwarf (Peter Dinklage) who becomes friends with Lucy.

Production design is more defined in this film and looks less like a patchwork circus than the previous film. Weapons and armor have more heft. Computer effects and creature designs have improved also. For many (including my 10-year-old niece and I), the favorite character will easily be Reepiheep, a swashbuckling mouse wielding a rapier who leads a platoon of warrior mice descended from the mice who previously helped Aslan escape. He’s perfectly voiced by Eddie Izzard.

Action fans couldn’t have asked for a better sequel. The previous film contained some good fight scenes but PRINCE CASPIAN is loaded with quality armored swordplay, horse combat, siege warfare, and dueling. While mostly bloodless, the film doesn’t shy away from racking up a high body count with much of the killing coming from the hands of our heroes. Susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell) gets to have her “Legolas” moment when she pulls out her bow in defense of Lucy while early on we’re reminded of Peter’s sword fighting skills in a night-time assault on Miraz’ castle. In this way, the film has a Grimm-style European feel to it, as it should. The world already has enough rose-tinted children’s tales.

One of the film’s highlights is a match between Edmund and Miraz. It’s meant to be a stalling tactic to buy time for the Narnians who are outnumbered by Miraz’s invasion force. In full armor, the two battle it out in a very nicely choreographed and shot dueling sequence. What I really liked was the strong use of perspective. The camera is often positioned in such a way that objects lean towards the lens for added visual flair. The movements are about as slick as it gets without moving out of the realm of possibility for fighters weighed down by heavy armor.

If anything is wrong with PRINCE CASPIAN it’s not in the adaptation. Character development is light and the film seems rushed at times, even with a two-hour plus running time but it seems unavoidable.

Families looking for a wholesome film to watch with their young children may be a little put off by some of the violence and magic. Battle sequences and magic lean towards the LORD OF THE RINGS but are slightly toned down. I do find it humorous that some Christians look down on the HARRY POTTER series for its evil witchcraft when C.S. Lewis was not above using pagan magic and creatures for his tales. It’s just a continuation of how early Christians in the Celtic world adapted Christianity to their indigenous folklore and pagan beliefs. There really is no substantive difference between the use of magic in the HARRY POTTER and NARNIA films apart from the specific faith-based theme of Lewis’ work.

Although more conventional in its approach, PRINCE CASPIAN is an overall improvement over its predecessor. It shows that Andrew Adamson is maturing as a live-action director and bodes well for the five remaining Narnia films to be made.