Movie Mama Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Peter Dinklage, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes
Directed By: Andrew Adamson
Running Time: 2 hr. 20 min.
MPAA Rating: PG for epic battle action and violence.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
In the next installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, it has been 1,300 hundred years since the four Pevensie children left Narnia. Since then, the Telmarines have invaded the country and sent the few remaining Narnians into hiding. Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the heir to the Telmarine throne, has been usurped by his evil uncle Miraz. When Miraz attempts to kill Caspian, the Prince escapes into the forest where he meets and befriends the Narnians. When they discover that Miraz is planning an attack on the forests, their only hope of salvation is to call upon the "kings and queens of old" with an ancient horn. When they do so, they magically transport Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) back to Narnia. But even though so much time has passed in Narnia, the Pevensie children have only aged one year in their time and the Narnians aren't convinced that four mere children will be able to save them from an army of full-grown men.
Prince Caspian is definitely a more mature film than its predecessor. The acting, landscapes, special effects...everything has grown up in this sequel. The author, C.S. Lewis, was adamantly against film portrayals of literature, which is understandable considering the lack of effects available during his lifetime. But after the first ten minutes of the movie, I found myself smiling and thinking that Lewis would have been proud of how director Andrew Adamson brought the magical land of Narnia to life. However, I do not think Lewis would have been happy with some of the additions Adamson made. Prince Caspian, the book, is just as light-hearted as the first film, but Adamson decided to make the movie a dark and epic adventure, creating a deeper back story for the Pevensies and the Narnians, and including more mature and intense themes.
Adamson took the liberty to include full battle sequences that did not take place in the book. I understand his motives--if he had stuck perfectly with the plot of the book, it would have been a yawn for most moviegoers. But there was something different about the battle scenes...something that set it apart from the war sequences of Lord of the Rings or even the battle scene from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. There's just something uncomfortable about watching teenagers (and CGI mice) plotting war and killing people. It left me feeling a bit unsettled. It isn't quite the form of entertainment I would normally choose for myself.
PROS
Even though the battle scenes were unsettling at times (most of the time they were quite riveting), they do happen to show the tragic cost of war. Instead of seeking out Aslan's help, Peter takes it upon himself to plan the battles. Everything goes wrong that could go wrong and many Narnians are killed because of it. Young viewers will understand that real-life war strategies are not just plans sketched out on paper, nor are they tactics in video games. They involve real soldier's lives.
Peter learns this lesson a bit too late. When they finally do seek Aslan out, hundreds of Narnians have lost their lives. They might have been spared if the children had asked for the help of an authority figure, instead of trying to fix things themselves.
I also enjoyed the struggle that the Pevensie's faced between being adults and being children. It's something we all struggle with, adolescent or not. There should be an equal balance to our decision making, taking into consideration both mature reasoning and childlike faith. Being either too much one way or the other can cause grievous errors in judgment. Peter's insistence that he was mature enough to plan the battles himself caused lives to be lost, and Lucy struggled to appear more mature in her siblings eyes by doubting whether or not her vision of Aslan had been real or just her childish imagination.
CONS
Parents should know that there are a lot of animals killed in the film. There is an especially intense scene where a wild bear, that is about to attack lucy, is shot and killed with an arrow. There are some scary battle sequences where both men and animals are slain. While virtually half of the film revolves around war, no blood or gore is shown.
One of the dwarves tells someone to shut up, but other than that, there is no crude or foul language.
Purists or fans of the books might be upset to find that Susan kisses Prince Caspian at the end of the film. I guess Adamson wanted to show more of the mature/childlike struggle by throwing in a thread of romance (which is almost completely void in the Narnia books) but it was a bit disappointing and distracting to me, though teenage viewers might enjoy it.
OVERALL
Most of the demographic in the audience will be teenagers, and Prince Caspian is one of the cleaner films of the summer. For that I highly recommend it. Parents and children alike should be able to enjoy the film together, but small kids might be frightened by the battle sequences. Dedicated Narnia fans won't be dissuaded by Adamson's take, and newcomers should find the film gripping and entertaining.
Megan is the staff family movie reviewer for pluggedinparents.com. For more parenting articles on health and safety, nutrition, baby, money and tech, family life, pets, and movie reviews, visit pluggedinparents.com today!
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