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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > May > 16 > Entry
‘Prince Caspian’ strengthens the Narnia series
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian becomes one of the rare sequels to better its predecessor, although it takes a long time for the new movie to roar as loudly as its familiar lion.
The first Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was a solid if tentative fantasy. Considering how revered C.S. Lewis’ book is, the film often felt more like an adaptation of a Narnia imitator than the genuine article.
The sequel impresses with a strong opening sequence that cleverly sets up the story and displays a more vibrant visual style than the first film. The title character (Ben Barnes) flees from his evil uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), with the prince unwittingly summoning the four Pevensie youths back to Narnia.
Only a year has passed in their time, but more than 1,000 years have gone by in Narnia, with the Pevensies finding the land they knew in ruins, after centuries of oppression. They join forces with Caspian so he and the Narnians can claim their rightful place.
After the promising beginning, the sequel begins to lose its way, threatening to repeat the mistakes of the first movie. For too long, Prince Caspian lacks urgency. When the kids get to Narnia, there’s not enough of a sense of wonder or astonishment. Their reaction is too subdued, as if Narnia were a place they saw all the time. Slack pacing doesn’t help matters either; the movie could have stood to be tightened in several places.
At about the midway point, however, when the heroes must buckle down and battle their foes, the wind returns to the movie’s sails. Andrew Adamson directs the action much more confidently than before, staging several rousing battles with thrilling vantage points both high in the clouds and low beneath the earth. The visual effects are greatly improved to boot.
Once the movie gets going, the lead actors are just as appealing as they were, with Georgie Henley being especially winning as the youngest girl Lucy, who makes the themes about finding lost faith go down with ease. The charismatic Barnes is a terrific addition, but the real scene stealers are the sword-fighting mice, who, funnily enough, reminded me of Puss in Boots, who made his debut in Shrek 2, co-directed by Adamson.
What I especially liked about this new film that it wasn’t simply a retread, or the first movie on steroids. Like all good follow-ups, this one heightened the drama and forged its own identity. For reasons I won’t give away here, the third movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, promises to be an even more radical departure - and given the way this series is improving, I’m anxious to see it.
GRADE: B+
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Reviews
Comments
By Sir Critic
May 20, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this
JT: The short answer to your question about my reviews appearing in the paper has to do with deadlines. Locally, most films don’t screen in time for the reviews to appear in print, which has deadlines early in the week. We have begun a capsule review section in the Middletown/Hamilton version of GO, however, so look out for that.By JT
May 17, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this
I saw Prince Caspian with my kids last night and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. My daughter especially enjoyed the 3 “Mouseketeers” as my son called them. A few issues though: it was too long and it should have been rated PG-13 instead of PG. I thought it was much more violent and scary than Ironman, which is rated PG-13. Overall, a decent movie, much better than some of the internet reviews I’ve read give it. Sir Critic was much closer than yesterday’s review in the DDN was. Why aren�t Sir Critic�s reviews in the paper?By Kim
May 16, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
I am looking forward to seeing it! It has been YEARS since I’ve read that series of books and I remember very little about it - guess I should read them again. But it’s kind of fun to not remember so I can just enjoy the movie on its own merit. Can’t wait! Hopefully I can go see it one night next week.