Product: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Two Disc Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
The Boy Who Would Be King
It's rare for a sequel to outshine the original. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" is more focused, more exciting, more interesting, and much more entertaining than 2005's "Narnia" film, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." The main characters are less aimless and enigmatic. The story is far more engaging. Everything in general is smoother and more developed, which is wonderful for anyone in need of a good fantasy story. It shouldn't matter if you've never read any of C.S. Lewis' original books, because in all honesty, it makes absolutely no difference--one should judge this film on its own terms and not make pointless comparisons to the source material. The important thing is that it's a good movie, plain and simple. On the whole, it very nearly gave me everything the first film did not."Prince Caspian" begins in the world of Narnia when Prunaprismia (Alicia Borrachero)--queen of the Telmarines--gives birth to a son. This is good news indeed for her husband, Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), because he finally has a male heir to take the place of his nephew, Prince Caspian X (Ben Barnes), who he plans to murder. Caspian's teacher, Dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass), has known of Miraz's dastardly plan all along, so he helps Caspian escape into the woods; there, the young Prince is attacked and taken captive by a pair of dwarves, but not before blowing a white horn shaped like a lion's head.This brings the story into 1950s England, where we're reintroduced to the Pevensie siblings: Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley). After breaking up a fight between Peter and a group of schoolboys, the four siblings are magically transported from a subway station back to Narnia. They quickly realize that things are not as they were when they left: ruins of once great structures are scattered all throughout; the trees no longer dance; the great lion Aslan is nowhere to be found, and neither are the other magical creatures. They then save a bitter dwarf named Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage), after which they learn the truth: while the siblings have aged only one year since leaving, Narnia has aged hundreds of years. 1300 years, to be precise. It isn't long before they meet Prince Caspian, who comes to and realizes his destiny is restore peace between the Narnians and the Telmarines.Obviously, this has turned his world upside down. Narnia began for him as nothing more than a fairy tale; until recently, he never believed that magical creatures even existed. When he realizes that such creatures do exist, he learns that his people conquered Narnia hundreds of years ago, leading to centuries of hostility and mistrust. Since Caspian was the one that called back the Pevensies with the horn, the few remaining creatures decide to form a truce with him and work towards peace. But this can only be done with the help of the four siblings, who after 1300 years remain the rightful kings and queens of Narnia. They join with Caspian knowing that difficult times lie ahead, especially since Aslan is still missing. When a raid on Miraz's castle goes horribly wrong, tensions grow between Peter and Caspian. Both selfishly try to prove themselves when they're supposed to be allies. Peter, for one, is brave and good-hearted, but he's also impulsive, believing he never needs help because he's always in control of the situation.On the same token, Caspian lets his hatred for Miraz overshadow his main mission, which is to help the Pevensies fight; it reaches a point when he's tempted by a dwarf named Nikabrik (Warwick Davis) to resurrect the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), whose soul is trapped in an icy netherworld. The only one who seems to have a handle on the situation is Lucy, who always hoped she would someday return to Narnia, unlike Susan, who has just begun to get used to England. Lucy clings to the hope that Aslan is somehow guiding them all towards something, even when no one else believes that she's seen him. All this eventually leads to a battle near the end of the film, one that's interwoven with a climactic swordfight between Peter and Miraz. The final part of the sequence features a creature made entirely of water, a creature so impressive I was disappointed with the filmmakers for giving it such little screen time.Most of the film shows the same level of creativity, with talking badgers and centaurs and marching armies of trees included at one point or another to enhance the experience for the audience. Talking creatures have often been a lot of fun in fantasy stories, especially since they usually add a little comedy relief. The funniest character in "Prince Caspian" is a talking mouse named Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard), who, despite his size, is actually quite skilled with a sword, even if it's no bigger than a pencil--"Yes, I'm a mouse," he says just before slitting the throat of a castle guard. Even if that one moment was more disturbing than it was funny, I still feel that, overall, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" is a wonderful fantasy adventure. I finally felt the magical spark that eluded me in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," an ambitious and well-intentioned film with an unfocused, underdeveloped story. I can't say how well made future "Narnia" films will be, but there's reason to hope for the best if they follow the same trend as "Prince Caspian."