I was surprised when I recently revisited the first Narnia film to find that I really didn’t like it much at all. I remember the first time I saw it in theaters I was relatively underwhelmed but still mildly entertained. After watching it a few times since my interest has certainly dwindled. This had an effect on how I approached Prince Caspian, but I still went in with an open mind.
Quite possibly the best thing about Prince Caspian is that it doesn’t treat the audience as a group of idiots. You are instantly thrown into a brand new storyline and there is absolutely no back-story, flashbacks or long diatribes rehashing the events of the first film. Sure, the Pevensie children – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy – find themselves in places they recognize and there are an inordinate amount of long looks off into nothingness, but we are never beat over the head with flashbacks to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and that is a welcome revelation.
In Prince Caspian we pick up approximately a year after the events of the prior film, at least in terms of our world. In Narnia more than 1000 years have passed and things are not as the Pevensie’s remember. The citizens of Narnia are believed to be extinct. They have become fairytales for the ruling Telmarines who closely resemble your stereotypical kings, queens and knights.
Prince Caspian comes into play as he is the rightful heir to the Telmarine throne but his evil uncle has other plans as he sets out to kill his nephew so his son may one day be king. Caspian escapes, teams up with some dwarves, they summon the kids and we are off on a two-and-a-half-hour excursion into fantasy land.
The plot is all fine and dandy. The story works and is extremely simple. One complaint would be that the film is a little long and the story is so predictable that running time really is uncalled for.
The four actors playing the Pevensie children are just as “good” as they were the last time around, which is to say they are adequate. However, one big problem I had was how Ben Barnes, who plays Prince Caspian, used some Antonio Banderas knock-off accent. The dude is from England, everyone is speaking with an English accent except him and it sounds faked and silly. Truly, that decision baffles me.
On the plus side, Caspian is much darker in tone and more adult than the first film. The battle scenes are certainly improved as even the mice begin slashing throats. Seriously, had they decided to CGI some blood into this bad boy it quite possibly could have been an R-rated feature.
Still, this film remains simple just as the first one and I worry it won’t have a lasting presence just as the first one didn’t. However, I am fully comfortable recommending this film for a theatrical viewing. It’s a fun summer epic and as long as you don’t take it too seriously and go with the flow you should enjoy yourself. Even if the song that plays over the end credits is extremely out of place and off-putting the minute it begins.
