The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Three years ago, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” brought the C.S. Lewis fantasy adventure to movie screens with great style and huge financial success, taking in $292 million at the box office.
That kind of cash moved the second installment of the series from likely to inevitable, and it’s being launched today as one of the first entries in the summer movie sweepstakes.
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” moves the action forward 1,300 years in Narnian history but just one year for the Pevensie children, who are called back to the kingdom when Caspian blows the animal horn trumpet left behind by Susan (Anna Popplewell).
The heir to the Telmarine throne, Caspian (Ben Barnes) is on the run from an assassination attempt by his evil uncle, Lord Miraz (Italian actor Sergio Castellitto). Caspian winds up in a deep forest populated by the odd creatures and talking animals that are the remaining Narnians, who have been banished by the Telmarines.
The Narnians aren’t sure about Caspian. But when the Pevensie kids show up — as the great ones from thousands of years before — the battle is on. Caspian and the Pevensies come up with a plan to assault Miraz’s castle, dwarfs, centaurs and sword-wielding rodents.
The assault fails, and the Narnians are on the run, targeted for extinction by the ruthless, bloodthirsty Miraz. That won’t come without a fight, however.
To divulge much more about the plot would spoil “Prince Caspian.” But it needs to be said that the picture plays like a standard medieval war epic, with giant massed arms, lots of sword play and flying arrows. It’s PG rated, but it’s still a war movie, even if it has magical creatures and conveys a Christian allegory, albeit less heavy-handedly than the original.
The title players from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” are back, but in far more limited roles. Aslan, the lion and the series’ Christ figure, has disappeared. But little Lucy (Georgie Henley) retains her belief in him.
The White Witch (Tilda Swinton) is also largely missing, trapped in a giant pane of ice and searching for a drop of blood that will allow her to re-enter the world.
Director Andrew Adamson and his co-writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley, also return for the second trip to Narnia. They’ve become more comfortable with the material and, perhaps because the story is more conventional, have come up with a stronger film than the first time around.
Newcomer Barnes is the kind of young swashbuckler that teen girls love (see Orlando Bloom in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), and he handles his part with the assurance of a veteran. And Peter Dinklage is perfect, providing some heart and comic relief as Trumpkin, the red dwarf who first finds Caspian and becomes a reluctant leader of the Narnian force.
The Pevensie kids are all back, too. The most effective actor of the bunch again is little Henley, who is the character that carries the belief with her. But all the kids are good, with Popplewell growing up into a romance with Caspian and the brothers, William Moseley as older Peter and Skandar Keynes as Edmund, each having to learn some lessons about strength, heart and courage.
The new Narnia is a far less mystical world than it was 1,300 years previously. But there’s still plenty of opportunity for computer-generated movie magic in “Prince Caspian,” whether it comes from battling centaurs or the funny talking rodents.
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” was one of the surprises of 2005 and was released later in the year when there wasn’t as much action competition. It will be interesting to see if “Prince Caspian” can match its predecessor at the box office with its release in the middle of the high-powered run of early summer movies.
But as a picture, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is every bit as good as “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and just might be a little better.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
That kind of cash moved the second installment of the series from likely to inevitable, and it’s being launched today as one of the first entries in the summer movie sweepstakes.
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” moves the action forward 1,300 years in Narnian history but just one year for the Pevensie children, who are called back to the kingdom when Caspian blows the animal horn trumpet left behind by Susan (Anna Popplewell).
The heir to the Telmarine throne, Caspian (Ben Barnes) is on the run from an assassination attempt by his evil uncle, Lord Miraz (Italian actor Sergio Castellitto). Caspian winds up in a deep forest populated by the odd creatures and talking animals that are the remaining Narnians, who have been banished by the Telmarines.
The Narnians aren’t sure about Caspian. But when the Pevensie kids show up — as the great ones from thousands of years before — the battle is on. Caspian and the Pevensies come up with a plan to assault Miraz’s castle, dwarfs, centaurs and sword-wielding rodents.
The assault fails, and the Narnians are on the run, targeted for extinction by the ruthless, bloodthirsty Miraz. That won’t come without a fight, however.
To divulge much more about the plot would spoil “Prince Caspian.” But it needs to be said that the picture plays like a standard medieval war epic, with giant massed arms, lots of sword play and flying arrows. It’s PG rated, but it’s still a war movie, even if it has magical creatures and conveys a Christian allegory, albeit less heavy-handedly than the original.
The title players from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” are back, but in far more limited roles. Aslan, the lion and the series’ Christ figure, has disappeared. But little Lucy (Georgie Henley) retains her belief in him.
The White Witch (Tilda Swinton) is also largely missing, trapped in a giant pane of ice and searching for a drop of blood that will allow her to re-enter the world.
Director Andrew Adamson and his co-writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley, also return for the second trip to Narnia. They’ve become more comfortable with the material and, perhaps because the story is more conventional, have come up with a stronger film than the first time around.
Newcomer Barnes is the kind of young swashbuckler that teen girls love (see Orlando Bloom in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), and he handles his part with the assurance of a veteran. And Peter Dinklage is perfect, providing some heart and comic relief as Trumpkin, the red dwarf who first finds Caspian and becomes a reluctant leader of the Narnian force.
The Pevensie kids are all back, too. The most effective actor of the bunch again is little Henley, who is the character that carries the belief with her. But all the kids are good, with Popplewell growing up into a romance with Caspian and the brothers, William Moseley as older Peter and Skandar Keynes as Edmund, each having to learn some lessons about strength, heart and courage.
The new Narnia is a far less mystical world than it was 1,300 years previously. But there’s still plenty of opportunity for computer-generated movie magic in “Prince Caspian,” whether it comes from battling centaurs or the funny talking rodents.
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” was one of the surprises of 2005 and was released later in the year when there wasn’t as much action competition. It will be interesting to see if “Prince Caspian” can match its predecessor at the box office with its release in the middle of the high-powered run of early summer movies.
But as a picture, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is every bit as good as “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and just might be a little better.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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