Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

With Prince Caspian, the sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, director Andrew Adamson takes C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia in a darker direction with, ironically, a greater sense of humor. The result is a film that is more morally nuanced and that much more engaging than its predecessor.

A year has passed in the lives of the Pevensie children since their return to England. However, more than 1,300 years have passed in Narnia, none of them good. Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) left Narnia shortly after the Pevensie's, and the human Telmarines have waged a war against Narnia's magical inhabitants, driving them close to extinction. The Pevensies are summoned back to Narnia by Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), and together they fight against the evil Lord Miraz (Sergio Castellito) to restore the Narnians to their rightful society, Caspian to his father's throne, and Narnia to civility.

The time span between the two movies lays a solid groundwork for the sequel. Since the first movie had a happy ending with all the loose ends tied up, it would have been unfortunate to attempt a "let's pick up directly where the last film left off" sequel (admittedly, this has more to do with Lewis' quality as a writer as opposed to Disney/Walden's abilities as movie makers). In fact, this convention allowed the storyline to introduce a greater sense of danger surrounding the film's heroes than existed in the first book, vesting the audience deeper into their adventure.

The performances delivered by the leading characters are improved from the first movie, but only Castellitto's portrayal of Lord Miraz deserves a 'good' rating. His menace is palpable, his ascent to power believable (think Claudius from Hamlet), and his presence exudes corrupt aristocracy.

While its darker tone and improved performances lend credibility and urgency to the story, the forced Disney/Walden-style pandering makes for a rather schizophrenic experience. The movie moves from scenes of children playing with talking animals to themes of assassination, fratricide, and war freely and the 143 minute run time simply isn't long enough to explore the juxtaposition thoroughly. Because of this, the movie often has the feel of a child attempting to find a seat at the grown-ups table.

Rating:

• Buy it now
• Worth $10 at Costco
• Happy we rented it, but also happy we only rented it
  
• No good at any price
• That numb feeling at the top of your head? That's your cerebral cortex closing up shop

m&n