Review 14: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Based on the second novel in The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis,
Set one year after the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) Pevensie return to Narnia and find that 1300 years have passed passed since their last visit. War has come to Narnia as it has been invaded and conquered by a race called the Telmarines and is now ruled their leader King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). The Pevensie's join forces with Miraz's exiled nephew Caspian (Ben Barnes) to overthrow Miraz and restore peace to Narnia.
The plot is excellent. It's darker and more mature than its predecessor and not just darker in terms of story but also in terms of tone and style.
What returning writer/director Andrew Adams captures superbly is the sense of going back to a place that no longer exists: The Pevensies return to Narnia and it's been 1300 years and everything's changed, the world they once knew no longer exists. Everyone they know is dead and their entire reign along with all their achievements are remembered only as legends.
This serves as a great metaphor & parallel to the coming-of-age story
Courage: Once again, Lucy's faith is put to the test
Chivalry:
The restoration of the true religion after a corruption: When the Pevensie's return to Narnia, it's only been a year since they left but by the time they return, a full 1300 years have past and in that time things have changed drastically and Narnia's been invaded by the Telmarines who have driven all the magic out of the realm. Miraz rules with an Iron Fist who levies high taxes and enacts harsh laws. Ultimately Prince Caspian asks us to believe in the ideal place that Narnia use to be and to believe that it can be brought back its former glory.
The Telmarine conquest of Narnia shares similarities with Norman Conquest of England. The emotional heart of the film is the sense of going back to a place that's no longer there.
Returning director Andrew Adamson's directing has surer sense of cinematic value, the cinematography is stylish and captures the darker grittier place that Narnia has become in 1300 years. The special effects are amazing, the costumes are terrific, the make up is gorgeous, the score by Harry Gregson-Williams is thematic and blood pumping, the action scenes are exciting, expertly staged, well choreographed, the production design is marvelous, the scenery is breathtaking and the ending puts a smile on my face.
The acting is, once again, marvellous, William Moseley excels as Peter. Peter gets back to Narnia and he has some serious authority issues. He returns to Narnia and he expects to simply be king again just like that and no one will contradict him and that everyone will do as he says.
He understandably assumes that since he's the High King, he's the one in charge by default.
Caspian, however, is unwilling to let him take over and this sparks a rivalry between them.
His arrogance proves to be a major roadblock as both he and Caspian have their own issues to deal with and neither of them are willing to compromise. So some friction between them is inevitable.
He isn't connecting with everybody else, he sees just himself as having to take on this challenge and he doesn't really accept Caspian initially.
Along the way, Peter learns humility and learns that to be a great king you need to compromise and listen to people. So he has to reinstate himself on both an emotional level and a physical level and he has to prove who he is to the Narnians as by now he and the other three Pevensie's are the stuff of legend.
Anna Popplewell is once again luminous, lovely and feisty as Susan. In a drastic departure from the book, Susan is made a warrior queen which is not only fun watch but also shows a sense of growth and maturity in the character. Allowing herself to adopt that more warrior-like status is actually her becoming more comfortable with herself and growing up a lot.
Skander Keynes also shows a great deal of maturity as Edmund. In this film, he's matured into the Han Solo of the group. Doing the right thing and probably being low-key about it. He's also always looking out for Peter and always helping him but never quite getting the credit that he deserves.
Georgie Henley, once again, enchants as Lucy. Lucy represents faith in the story - faith that help will come and once agin restore peace to Narnia, being the youngest and therefore the most open-minded of the Pevensie children.
The relationship between her and Aslan is as important in this film as it was in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Throughout the film, Lucy is made to feel like she's just the youngest one again
Ben Barnes absolutely nails the titular role as Prince Caspian. Caspian's arc in this film is superbly well realised and executed. He starts out as someone who's quite naive and fleeing for his life from his tyrannical uncle to craving revenge against said uncle and ultimately letting go of the vengeance.
Another actor whose very good in this film is Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin the Dwarf.
Typically in fantasy films, there's good and there's evil. Trumpkin, even though he's on the Narnians side, is somewhere in between. He's cynical, a skeptic. Someone who doesn't believe in the "fairy tale" of two old kings and the two old queens of Narnia or the mythical lion Aslan.
As for Sergio Castellitto as the wicked King Miraz, Castellitto may not be as great an actor as Tilda Swinton was as the White Witch in the first film but nonetheless makes for a scary and arguably a more complex and interesting villain. Primarily he's a ruthless and cruel dictator who has self proclaimed him "Lord Protector" of Narnia and has banished the teachings of pre-Telmarine Narnia history.
But also in a lot of ways, his relationship with his nephew Caspian mirrors that of Hamlet & Claudius in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
He's a man who wants to ensure the survival of his family line and he sees Caspian as an obstacle in the way that he's initially tolerated but now needs to be eliminated.
Though his appearance is sporadic Liam Neeson, once again, is magnificent as Aslan. However his sporadic usage works within the context of the film. He mostly appears in moments that tie into the characters beliefs. Because Narnia has now been reduced to a dictatorship and the teachings of the old Narnia history have been outlawed by Miraz. He too has disappeared and
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a great sequel to a superb fantasy film and one of the best sequels out there, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic
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