What a difference three years make. In 2005, only 36 months ago, the first film installment of "The Chronicles of Narnia" appeared in theaters. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" earned nearly $300 million and won an Oscar for achievement in makeup. Conservative Christian activist groups, which endorsed the movie because of its Christian theology, took credit for its financial success. More likely it was a massive advertising campaign and the extreme popularity of the source material, penned by C.S. Lewis, which ranks among "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" as the most famous of fantasy books.
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," a polished family-friendly film, told the story of the four Pevensie children – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – who fell through a magical wardrobe into the mystical world of Narnia. After their adventures concluded in Narnia they returned to England, circa 1940, from where they had come. The movie was pleasant and charming, suffering only from wooden acting from its adolescent leads and a prolonged battle scene that disagreed with the whimsical nature of the story. It was an acceptable beginning to a long story, flawed in many ways, but important in establishing the beauty and majesty of Narnia and the personalities of its main characters.
Flash forward three years to May 16, 2008 when part two of the "Narnia" saga, "Prince Caspian" debuted in theaters all over the country. Unlike its predecessor, "Prince Caspian" is not a charming story about four human youths lost in a mystical land; it is a medieval battle epic filled with all the grand and romantic themes which are rarely found in blockbuster films in the twenty-first century. In "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" Narnia was a place to be discovered. In "Prince Caspian" Narnia is a place to be saved.
In "Prince Caspian" the Pevensie children are each one year older, but Narnia has endured a long 1,300 years. A castle, in which the children sat as kings and queens of Narnia, has been reduced to ruins. Their former friends have long since died. And, most troubling, the magical inhabitants of Narnia – talking animals, dwarfs, centaurs and griffins – have disappeared and been replaced by Telmarines, conquerors from a foreign land.
"Prince Caspian" introduces a host of new characters to the Pevensies, who, along with the god-like lion Aslan, are the only returning characters. The most important is the titular character Caspian (Ben Barnes), the Telmarine crown prince driven from the throne by his usurper uncle. Most of the first third of the movie is devoted to Caspian's coming to terms with his situation – powerless and alone – and his relationship with native Narnians, whom he thought were long extinct. Caspian and the Narnians have a common enemy, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), and form an alliance to reclaim Narnia for its rightful owners.
The remainder of the first third is devoted to the Pevensies' search for answers in a new, more dangerous Narnia. Their guide in this journey is a cantankerous dwarf named Trumpkin, played wonderfully by Peter Dinklage. Trumpkin guides the children to the woods, where Telmarines are scared to tread, and finally encounters Caspian and his growing army.
"Prince Caspian" marks a huge rise in quality over its predecessor. The acting is better, as is the writing, directing and storytelling; very strange because the director, screenwriters and four main actors are unchanged. What is most interesting is the change in tone. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" established Narnia as a Garden of Eden, troubled only by the serpent (the White Witch). In "Prince Caspian" Narnia has become more of a biblical Jerusalem, troubled by invaders, internal strife and destruction.
The battle scenes in "Prince Caspian" are creative, thrilling and lengthy. A nighttime castle siege, occurring late in the movie, involves airborne and earthbound warriors clashing with each other above and between dark castle walls. The final battle, fought mostly on a grassy field, is a beautiful and symbolic clash between the ferocity of man and the supreme power of nature. Throughout everything is the influence of Lewis' religiosity, although much less obvious than that in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
"Prince Caspian" is a substantial movie, in terms of special effects, size and scope. It is probably more closely related to the "Lord of the Rings" movies than its 2005 predecessor.
"You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember," says Trumpkin to Lucy, the youngest and most faithful of the Pevensie children. That may be the overriding theme of "Prince Caspian," that innocence must eventually be lost and that even the great monuments of Narnia, once towering and pristine, must someday fall down.
**** out of ****
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