The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
O Good
X OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / June 18, 2008

I know it’s probably inaccurate and perhaps a little unfair to write this, but “The Chronicles of Narnia” seems like a watered-down “Lord of the Rings,” a poor man’s version. There’s something not fun about watching four kids be monarchs over a fantastical kingdom. Perhaps I’m just getting old and crotchety.

Don’t get me wrong, “Prince Caspian” is satisfactory entertainment. If you liked “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” then you’ll be pleased with “Prince Caspian,” too. But there’s something over-polished and artificial about these movies that I find off-putting. They’re just not grungy enough.

For instance, tell me you’ve seen “Clash of the Titans” (1981) or “The Beastmaster” (1982). Both movies have a gritty realism to them, even now, despite their datedness. And “The Lord of the Rings” movies are also convincing. But “The Chronicles of Narnia” employs excessive, cartoonish GCI. Another good example of such an offense is this month’s “The Incredible Hulk.” What is this? “Pete’s Dragon?” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” I prefer live-action movies to either have seamless CGI or none at all.

I will confess that I have not read C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books. Sorry. Nor do I plan to. Sorry again. But I have a feeling, even if I had, I still wouldn’t be clear about who’s who and why that matters. Take Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), for example. The movie opens with Caspian as the rightful heir to some kingdom (but what kingdom?), except Caspian’s aunt and evil uncle just had a male child. Caspian is a threat and therefore, in danger of being eliminated.

So Caspian flees and encounters the Narnians, which are basically the cast of “The Muppet Show” or Shrek’s magical, woodland fairytale friends. Then, what I understood next, was that it was time for the Pevensie kids to finally return to Narnia (OK, but why?). And when they do, as we found out from the previews, a great deal of time has passed in Narnia. So, to be short, Prince Caspian and the Pevensie royalty must team up with the Narnians and defeat the innumerable armies of the evil uncle. Oh, and Aslan (Liam Neeson) the lion is rather cheeky about his screen time, meaning, he’s hardly in the movie, even though he’s one of the most interesting characters.

And that’s about it. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the movie, “Prince Caspian” is a decent family film whose PG-rating could probably be PG-13. Kids will be dazzled, and I’m all for that; I’m just not crazy about them being monarchs.

Directed by Andrew Adamson
Ben Barnes / William Moseley / Georgie Henley
Fantasy / Adventure 144 min.
MPAA: PG (for epic battle action and violence)

U.S. Release Date: May 16, 2008
Copyright 2008: 293