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Movie Review - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Return of the (Rightful) King
Movie Review - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2:00 pm May 17 - by Clifford White – buzz writer
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A scene from The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Buzz says:
MPAA Rating: PGCurrent Showtimes: No showtimes available
Imagine cruel humans tyrannically colonizing and destroying the beautiful harmony of a magical world, forcing all the mythical creatures to quit their bickering and join forces to save their lands from being reduced to a never-ending medieval metropolis. Sound familiar? No, I’m not talking about a Lord of the Rings appendix being turned into a movie, I’m describing the over-arching narrative of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The similarities between LOTR and Prince Caspian don’t end there: there’s a ruthless lord hell bent on obliterating every sign of magic from the planet, convenient aerial assistance, epic battle sequences filmed in New Zealand, a David and Goliath scene and even fighting trees.
Although one can draw parallels between the latest Narnia movie and Lord of the Rings, Prince Caspian has its own distinct charm and originality. Chiefly the four kids. Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) return as the slightly older and a little bit wiser but nevertheless naïve heroes. Finally adjusted to their ordinary lives in war torn London, the children are whisked back to Narnia to help Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) regain his throne and oust his evil uncle King Miraz (Sergio Castellito). Prince Caspian is far darker and contains much less of the childlike wonderment found in the first film. The harsh brutality of the Middle ages has taken control of the once peaceful Narnia. Reminiscent of Spanish conquistadors, the hordes of soldiers do little more than look impressive before being slaughtered by everything from mice, to dwarves and Centaurs.
There are a series of morality plays within Prince Caspian. What is the meaning of loyalty? How strong are the binds of friendship when your mutual destruction is all that unites you? What does it mean to have blind faith? The easy to digest answers provided for small children is what tethers the movie to a PG rating even though The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is surprisingly violent compared to the first installment. The smaller kids in the theater could be scared, but it is a worthy sequel that ups the ante and is the perfect film to bridge the gap for kids who are too old for typical Disney fantasy and the more complicated Lord of the Rings.
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Last post: Jun. 5, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Dominica Strong (Dominica Strong) said on May. 21, 2008 at 6:47 am:
I was just gonna say that matt.
yoho (unregistered user) said on Jun. 5, 2008 at 8:22 pm:
the movie makes sure to blast christianity into your mind.
btw, don't see this piece of shiat. it's terrible. 1 star.
they end the film with a regina spektor song. seriously.
Matt Fender (Matt Fender) said on May. 19, 2008 at 3:15 pm:
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein were best friends. They edited each other's work. Seems fitting there are similarities, don't you think?
Difference is LOTR is allegory for WWII and Britain's unremembered history.
Chronicles of Narnia is allegory for biblical tales (as if that is hard to notice).