May 16, 2008
Movie review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
By Stan Dyer
This series is very popular and the first movie was both well done and well received. When I saw the next in the series was coming, I made plans to check it out. Although the movie attracts a younger audience, parts of it are very intense and very violent. It starts out slowly enough and even muddles for a while, but it finishes in a flurry with a lot of action and a lot of excitement. It is a very entertaining movie.
One year after saving Narnia from the forces of evil, the four Pevensie children are enjoying normal lives as schoolchildren back in London. A blast from Queen Susan's horn opens a portal and summons the four back to Narnia to discover that many years have passed and all is not well.
The Telmarines control Narnia and King Miraz is in power. Miraz murdered his own brother to take the crown, and is systematically killing off all rivals and has his sites on young Prince Caspian, who is the next, rightful heir. The prince manages to escape certain death and flee into the forest, meet up with Narnians thought to be extinct, and sound the horn that summons the quartet.
The Pevensie's arrive through a portal from the subway and discover how much time has passed and how much has changed. They meet up with the prince who has already enlisted the help of the Narnians to regain his status. For some reason, the Narnians easily forget years of pent up anger, and how they lived in fear hiding from Telmarines to join this Telmarine prince based on the simple promise that he will right the wrongs of the past.
The recently formed allegiance plans an attack on the castle, buy they fail and retreat to their own stronghold to regroup. Miraz does not wait for another attack. He gathers his troops into a vast army and marches to destroy the traitors. Badly beaten, the Narnians, the Pevensies and the Prince plan a delaying move. Lucy goes to find the lion, Aslan while High King Peter proposes a "winner-take-all" duel to the death against King Miraz. King Miraz is humiliated into accepting and the battle royal is on.
After a good fight, Peter wins, but refuses to kill the King. Instead, he hands the sword to the Prince and offers him the chance. The Prince, too, refuses, and seeks to reunify Narnia, but King Miraz is killed by one of his own lords who claims the Narnians cheated and killed the king. The battle begins anew.
In an epic battle, things start out well for the Narnians, but the Telmarines soon gain the upper hand. It is not until Lucy returns with Aslan and an army of animated trees that the Narnians prevail. The Telmarines are given the choice of living in Narnia in peace, or returning through the portal that brought them there. Most stay in Narnia, but a few choose to leave through the portal. All four Pevensies return through the portal as well, and return to their lives as British schoolchildren.
I rate the movie an "A". People who read the books and saw the other movie will appreciate it more. It does start out slowly, but it finishes strongly enough to make you forget the fumbling at the beginning. Two problems I have with this movie concern the weapons. Whether they were catapults or trebuchet, I could not determine the spring or counterbalance measure that allowed them to fire perfectly round stones so consistently. The other problem was with the crossbows favored by the Telmarines. Anyone who has used a crossbow knows that it is neither a rapid-fire weapon, nor one for a mounted soldier. Due to the nature of the mechanism, crossbows must be placed on the ground for cocking. It is not like a bow that can be pulled back quickly within seconds. That means that a cavalry soldier using a crossbow is only going to get one shot before his crossbow becomes nothing more than a heavy projectile. I also could not tell if they were shooting arrows or "bolts" from those crossbows, but I believe they want us to believe they were shooting arrows. For the records, crossbows do not shoot arrows. Crossbows shoot what are called "bolts".
Just remember that it is a fantasy movie and that attention to detail comes second to imagination. Also, even though I saw children as young as five in the theatre, I would advise against it. Let them wait until they are six.
Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Director: Andrew Adamson
Runtime: 2 hours, 20 minutes, Genre: Fastasy adventure, Rating: PG
Cast: Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian, Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie, Skander Kenyes as Edmund Pevensie, William Moseley as Peter Pevensie, and Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie.