The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
It’s been a year since the Pevensie children have taken their first steps into the fantastic world of Narnia through the wardrobe during WWII, and 2 1/2 years since we saw them on the big screen in 2005’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. A lot has changed in Narnia, as well as what’s onscreen in the time away. Though the story of C.S. Lewis’ classic fantasy story for “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” has the pull and allure of Lewis’ friend J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, what co-writer/director Andrew Adamson wrought onscreen was a purely PG concoction that could easily satisfy the Christian base that Disney and Walden Media courted for the film’s release (they used the same promo team behind “The Passion of the Christ”). The result was enjoyed by families, but fans (myself included) felt pretty ho-hum about the result.
Well, “Narnia” is still in the realm of safe PG-friendly confines with Adamson’s adaptation of “Prince Caspian,” but the energy is different this time around. Like the story on Lewis’ page (“Caspian” is the fourth book of Lewis’ series), the movie hits on darker and more adult themes of loyalty, betrayal, and finding your strength in a difficult world. You feel the danger right away; the opening scenes include the villainous uncle of Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) ordering a hit on the rightful heir to the throne of the Telmarine, who have run rampant over the lands of Narnia, to where any remains of the world we saw in “Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe” are in hiding. During his escape, he finds himself in a forest, which Telmarines find dangerous, and in the company of Narnian creatures like dwarves and a talking badger. But when the throne is at stake, Telmarine soldiers head into the forest, but while Caspian is spared with the assistance of the Narnians, the soldiers do capture a dwarf named Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage, whose physical acting and emotive feeling comes through the makeup and prosthetics he wears).
In his escape, Caspian blows the horn given to him by his professor and mentor- an heirloom of the old times- in his time of need. But the horn does more than summon the Narnians; it’s actually does some pretty nifty magical mojo in summoning the young Kings and Queens of Narnia, the Pevensie children, who returned to reality after their first adventures in Narnia. It’s a welcome return for Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and young Lucy (Georgie Henley) until they see what has come of the land that helped them becoming stronger men and women and cope with being separated from their family during the war. Turns out they’ve been gone for 1300 years, meaning all of their friends are long dead. And the time away hasn’t necessarily done wonders for their abilities to rule- rescuing Trumpkin is tricky business, and the arrogant Peter leads an attack that gets too many captured and killed- but seeing as though there are seven books in Lewis’ series, you get the feeling they’ll find their way again. Plus, you know the Christ-like lion Aslan (voiced once-again, but looking less than believable in the CGI department, by Liam Neeson) will surely be around when times get toughest.
The ways in which this film succeeds makes it even more disappointing that the first film in the series didn’t as much. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is still an entertaining fantasy, but strictly remains onscreen and is completely predictable (the highly unsubtle Christian subtext didn’t really help it either; here, the references are more elegantly integrated and effective). Here, Lewis ups the ante and Adamson isn’t afraid to follow. After his live-action debut with “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Adamson (who co-directed the first two “Shrek” films) feels more assured behind the camera with directing actors and blending live-action and CG-effects. The action pops onscreen- especially the Narnian sneak attack on the Telmarine’s castle and Peter’s mano a mano swordfight with Caspian’s evil uncle Miraz- who’s taken the throne for himself (reminiscent of Hamlet’s uncle)- which leads to a final battle, this time with the Narnians with their backs against the wall (though not without a few tricks up their sleeves)- and the actors come alive, be they heard only in voiceover (like Eddie Izzard as a brave mouse) or up front and center (Barnes may be a pretty face as Caspian, but he also shows the conflict in the to-be king effortlessly).
Never is that more evident than with the actors playing the Pevensie children, who made enough of an impression to want to see them back this time around (and beyond), but didn’t really feel completely at home in their roles (except the delightfully child-like Henley as Lucy). Not so this time; all the characters convincingly come to life in different ways than they did in the first one. Peter is a head-strong teen who feels invincible, the true hubris of a king; Moseley’s performance as the flawed hero doesn’t miss a step as Peter grows more self-less and king-like throughout the movie. Edmund is no longer the grouchy child-cynic he was the first time; now he’s looking out for others, including his brother in fights he gets himself in (Keynes hardly does the most memorable work in the film, but does deliver what we expect from the character). Lucy still has that sense of child-like wonder in her eyes when they’re in Narnia, but with the added confidence she built up before, which only adds to the character’s likability this time around. Most impressive is the transformation by Susan; as played by Popplewell, she feels more like mother to the children than sibling…and yet she still has that innocence to her (except when she’s shooting down a boarding school suitor back in London). She protects the others (both with wise advice and, back in Narnia, with a skillful aim as archer) and has a good head on her shoulders (she knows her attraction with Prince Caspian would never work…she’s just a little too old for him). I can’t wait to see where these characters go in the next chapters; like “Harry Potter,” part of the appeal is going to be seeing these actors (and their characters) grow up before our eyes.
Visually-speaking, the film- which moves briskly at around the same 140 minute running time of its’ predecessor- has a decidedly darker tone than its’ predecessor in the cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub. The effects still leave something to be desired, however. While the traditional makeup effects are completely believable, the CG employed sometimes feels less than believable (although it does offer some great visuals too good to give away). The creatures, of which there are many, don’t feel quite as convincing as they do in other fantasies (“Harry Potter” has had similar problems over the years, though not necessarily recently), even though I do believe that lions and mice and badgers do indeed talk. The centaurs and minotaurs feel life-like, as do the birds that carry soldiers into battle and the trees that come alive when most needed (both odes to Lewis’ friend Tolkien perhaps? undoubtedly), but the other character feel more like digital creations than wonderful fantasy characters. Thumper feels more real than some of these guys; still, the film is so involving otherwise you don’t really want to carp too much…it’s still better than “In the Name of the King.” Then again…so, I would imagine, is the dreadful “Dungeons & Dragons” movie made back in 2000.
Adamson isn’t the only one raising his game for “Prince Caspian.” Though I found his score for “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” unmemorable and derivative, composer Harry Gregson-Williams (the composer on animated films like “Shrek” when he’s not churning out action cues for the likes of Tony Scott) delivers the goods with “Caspian.” I still have a hard time discerning a central motif in his score, but it feels more organic to the story this time around, whereas his score for the first film seemed more like temp tracks from other epics. His action cues in particular, exerted a hold on my ears. He hits some of the same hero beats as others have before him, but no matter- his score for “Caspian” worked for me. The songs at the end of it however? Not so much. But like the rest of the movie, you can endure a little bit of pain for so much moviegoing pleasure. “Narnia” has finally arrived on the big screen. I’m just glad it took them two films to get it right.
