Product: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Two Disc Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 2.0
"Darker" is not Necessarily Better
This is the second of Walden Media's adaptations of CS Lewis' Narnia Chronicles, helmed by the same writer-director, Andrew Adamson. Parents of younger children will find it less child-friendly than the earlier film -- it is darker, more violent, with a more confusing plot, with older actors (far older than in the book), and a less of a focus on animal characters. Older kids embarrassed by child-friendly material will probably call it an improvement (but without, I suspect, much more actual enjoyment). On balance, I rate it no better than the first film - in that it is equally devoid of the charm, wit, humor, intelligence and moral perspective that can be found in the source novels, and with only a handful of inspired moments.Adamson continues his agenda of systematically trashing Lewis' characters. This time, Peter gets the worst of it, being portrayed as insecure, egotistical and power hungry. The other Pevensies fare slightly better in comparison, but they are a miserable and surly lot, apparently incapable of passing up an opportunity to hurt each-other (or anyone else) with a mean-spirited jibe. As in the first film, every crisis is an excuse for a hellish bout of finger-pointing, blame-mongering and whining. Adamson seems scarcely able to imagine people treating each-other any other way.That Adamson expects approval for such spitefulness is evidenced by Lucy's taunting of Trumpkin during his confrontation with Aslan (which incidentally is rather dull in comparison with the Book -- Aslan just roars at him). This was clearly none of her business. Had she behaved so in the book, she would surely have got a scolding from Aslan herself.Secondary characters are trashed too. Caspian becomes a jerk for whom revenge takes precedence over concern for his subjects. Trumpkin the Dwarf has become a dour and charm-less bore, whose interactions with the Children are devoid of any glimmer of human warmth, and who seems scarcely distinguishable from his more-villainous counterpart, Nikabrik. Trufflehunter is entirely forgettable, and seems more like a weasel than a badger. The Bulgy Bears -- perhaps judged not cool enough -- are entirely absent.It is in many ways more violent than the book, and in some way less so. I personally would not mind seeing Trumpkin decapitate the Hag, or Peter decapitate the treacherous Lord, as occurred in the book. We are spared such sights here. What is regrettable is not so much the level of graphic violence as the level of viciousness. In the book, our heroes committed violent acts when necessary and justifiable, but also showed moral restraint, and concern for others, including enemies. The film ups the level of casual, thoughtless killing, and eliminates most evidence of compassion and moral restraint. If, by some chance, the heroes do show mercy, it is with the worst grace imaginable, as if the sole purpose of sparing an enemy's life were to humiliate him.One example of the film's mindset is the treatment of Reepicheep. In the BOOK, Reepicheep, the mouse warrior, was honored and respected for his courage and chivalry. But the idea that there might be virtues other than brute strength is apparently an alien concept to Adamson, who turns the miniscule Reepicheep into a terrifying, death-dealing monster. During battles, he flies toward human throats with the alacrity of the Monty Python's Vicious Bunny, and in one bizarre scene, single-handedly dispatches a half-dozen Telmarine soldiers.There are many changes. The novel had a somewhat non-linear plot, and I understand that presenting it effectively on the big screen would requires some creativity. I agree, for instance, that starting with Caspian, and having the Pevensies appear later, is probably the best way to adapt. Still, this could have been adapted better. Whenever the story makes no sense, which is very frequently, you can be sure that it happened very differently in the book. Lewis plotted his stories with care.The best scene, I thought, was Lucy dancing with the leaves.