The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

A Less Than Magical Sequel

By Matt Forsman (May 16, 2008 )

It is a dark time in the land of Narnia as the tyrannical Lord Miraz has seemingly exterminated and/or banished all Narnians from the land. Miraz rules with an iron fist and legions of soldiers. Determined to ascend the throne and become king, Miraz attempts to kill the true heir to the throne, Prince Caspian. Hunted mercilessly through Beruna Woods, Caspian blows a sacred horn summoning help. Thus begins The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Jarringly we cut to London as the Pevensie siblings (Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan) scramble to catch the subway and wax nostalgic about the time they once spent in Narnia and wonder if they will ever return. Conveniently, a magical portal to Narnia opens and the children return to the land they once ruled, but things are not what they once were.

If you’re a bit confused, that’s not surprising. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian does very little to orient the viewer to exactly who the Pevensies are, what they have been through, why they left Narnia, and why we should care. Even if you have seen the first Narnia film, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, you’re likely to have some difficulty determining exactly what’s happening and why it’s happening. If you haven’t seen the first film and/or have some familiarity with the books, you’re likely to be very challenged.

Granted, you will be able to understand the main thread of the story which involves an epic fight between the banished Narnians and King Miraz’s armies for the throne. But, why Caspian summons some kids from present day London with a magic horn to come back to join the fight and how the Narnians came to be banished (and nearly exterminated) when they certainly seem to put up a hell of a fight later in the film is unclear.

Fortunately, it’s a bit easy to overlook these challenges and simply sit back and enjoy the glut of fight scenes, death, and destruction. But, isn’t The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian supposed to be a "family" film? Granted, we don’t see people getting impaled, decapitated, or showers of blood, but this is a VERY violent film and I couldn’t recommend this to any parent in good conscience with a child under the age of 14. Yet there were tons of children under the age of eight at the screening I attended.

What’s also a bit distressing about the battle between the Narnians and King Miraz’s army is the large number of shots and scenes that seem to be virtually lifted from the The Lord of the Rings films. Trees come to life and attack Miraz’s army (a la the Ents of Fangorn Forest from The Two Towers). Huge catapults bombard the Narnians stronghold (reminiscent of The Two Towers and Return of The King). Moreover, Miraz’s soldiers bear a striking resemblance to many of the soldiers in the stylized 300 released last year. Maybe this is just being faithful to the book, but it seemed suspect.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian aspires to be a broad, sweeping fantasy epic but falls way short. It’s challenging to understand exactly what’s at stake and you never learn enough about the Narnians (or the Pevensies) to really care too much about their fate. They seem like good people, you aren’t really given an opportunity to develop an emotional connection with them. The film is also EXTREMELY long (well over 2 hours) which makes it all the more distressing that there’s still much in the film that needs some kind of explanation or development.

What you’re left with is a film that isn’t bad, but doesn’t really work as a film for children due to the violence and doesn’t totally work for adults. Furthermore, both audiences are not unlikely to have problems understanding what’s happening if they don’t have some prior exposure to the Narnia books or the first film.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars