Narnia: Prince Caspian

“Prince Caspian” begins with Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy (Pevensie is their surname, by the way) struggling with the real world after having been kings and queens of Narnia.

It has been a year since they came back through the wardrobe to the real world. As suddenly as they left Narnia, they are returned, as an Underground station quickly turns into a beach on the shores of Narnia.

While a year has passed for the Pevensie siblings, 1300 years have passed in Narnia. Imagine the changes that our world has undergone in 1300 years, and you can imagine the unfamiliar territory Narnia has become.

Gone is the Golden Age of Narnia that followed the demise of the White Witch in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” A race called the Telmarines has destroyed almost all of what made Narnia a magical place.

The Telmarines are based on the Spanish Conquistadors that imposed their will over much of North America. Like their Earth counterparts, the Telmarines have killed off most Narnians, relegating the survivors to an underground existence in the forest.

The title character finds himself in a Hamlet-like predicament, his father is recently deceased, and his uncle Miraz now sits on the throne. When Miraz’s wife gives birth to a son, Caspian suddenly becomes expendable.

Only the sudden intervention of Caspian’s tutor Cornelius allows him to escape into the woods, where he encounters the banished Narnians.

Miraz is played with a certain swarthy charm by Italian actor Sergio Castellitto. Castellitto does a fantastic job of playing a Cortez-style conquistador who is willing to do anything to keep the crown. He is a fearsome villain that brings all the savagery of “300’s” King Leonidas to the film.

The Pevensie children are played by the same actors and actresses from the previous film. As Edmund, Skandar Keynes pushes his character to the front of almost every scene. While Edmund was a major character in the first film, he takes a back seat to the other siblings for this one.

It is a credit to Keynes’ screen presence that he is able to draw attention even in a reduced role. His dry British wit steals every scene it’s in, and his mix of courage and dourness make Edmund a character worth observing.

Harry Gregson-Williams (“Team America,” Kingdom of Heaven”) composed a transcendent score for the movie. He is able to provide accompaniment to a chase through the woods or a sneak attack on a castle that conveys the tension of the moments in many different ways.
The score is so effective that the few moments of silence seem to be the loudest, most intense of the film.

Due to the epic nature of the C.S. Lewis book on which the movie is based, there is no shortage of battles and confrontations. The Christian theology that is so omnipresent in the novels is very much a part of this film.

The struggle between differing ideologies, whether it be between Caspian and Peter or the Narnians and Telmarines, is shown in a way that the audience is clear on who is right and who is wrong.

The movie’s gravity and epic feel is slowly undone by its reliance on slapstick humor. With so many talking animals populating Narnia, the filmmakers cannot resist the “Alvin and the
Chipmunks” humor that seems to fill most family films.

While this can be excused at the beginning, when things remain light, the shtick laid in ever thicker as the movie progresses. Almost every significant moment towards the end is tainted by a cheap throwaway attempt at a laugh.

In addition to robbing the film of its epic nature, the jokes slowly eat away at some great acting performances. The hour and a half spent making Miraz a dangerous character is nullified by five minutes of lame jokes right before what should be an epic battle between him and Peter.

Lewis’ saga is supposed to be one of the great mythologies of Western literature. The books succeeded in putting Christian themes in an epic fantasy narrative that stands up with or without the religious context.

If the movies continue to make talking animals make cheap jokes, not only does this take away from Narnia’s legacy, it does a disservice to all fans of the novels who want to see Lewis’ vision brought to the silver screen.

Rating - $5.50