Valerie Oliveiro
“My child, nothing happens the same way twice,” Aslan, the mighty lion, (ironically) tells young Lucy Pesenvie twice in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Disney’s second attempt at creating a box office out of Narnia has fallen short yet again.
Summary
Lesson #1: Mediterranean accents do not always work on British actors.
Lesson #2: War scenes: How much bloodshed is considered too gory?
Lesson #3: Musings of the Purists
Lesson #4: Dear Little Friend.
Lesson #5: That’s enough of Shrek already, thanks.
Lesson #6: Are those Ents from LOTR? Is the train from Harry Potter?
Lesson #7: It’s a movie, not a flipchart calendar.
Lesson #8: Who threw the characters out of the window?
Lesson #9: Heart-breaker
Lesson #10: A cheesy ending to the Narnian adventure
UrbanWire’s Verdict
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) flees on horse into the Narnian Woods, fearing for his life as the evil King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) sends his henchmen to kill him. In his desperation, he blows the magical old horn, calling for help from the Kings and Queens of the Old – the Pesenvie siblings. It so happens that the 4 children are at the subway in the 1940’s when a train races past them and transports them to Narnia.
The Pesenvies, Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) catches up on how their peaceful Narnia has turned into a war-torn and dark place. Together with Prince Caspian, the Kings and Queens of Narnia strategise and command the Narnian troops as they go to war with King Miraz and the Telmarine soldiers.
Lesson #1: Mediterranean accents do not always work on British actors.
Teenage girls will definitely watch Prince Caspian just to swoon over 27-year-old Ben Barnes, the newest addition to the pack, with a thick Mediterranean accent in tow. His flowing hair makes UrbanWire think that Barnes would be better off without the accent and act in Hercules. Watch out Kevin Sorbo, actor of Hercules TV Series, this new warrior is all armed for battle.
Lesson #2: War scenes: How much bloodshed is considered too gory?
For this sequel, Disney has mellowed the fighting scenes so much that weapons seem to do the impossible – Susan takes down a heavily armoured soldier with just one thin red arrow. Bloodshed is hardly a problem with Narnia. Perhaps all Disney movies will start this trend of no gore in their movies. After all, it will help them save costs on make-up artists and fake blood.
Lesson #3: Musings of the Purists
Many remain sceptical as to whether the movie is worth watching. “I doubt that the movie stays true to the original writings of C.S. Lewis. Just thinking of a diluted version of parts of the book is enough to convince me not to catch the movie”, Evan Wringing, a fan of C.S. Lewis’ books for over 20 years, shares with UrbanWire. The lack of support from die-hard fans makes Narnia lose out to Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.
Lesson #4: Dear Little Friend.
As per the text, Lucy affectionately calls Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage), a dwarf her “D.L.F.” (dear little friend). Fired with a horrible grumpy attitude, UrbanWire insists that even Grumpy from the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves better deserves the title “D.L.F.”
Lesson #5: That’s enough of Shrek already, thanks.
Another small CGI friend in the movie is the swashbuckling mouse, Reepicheep, voiced by Eddie Izzard. The melodramatic tiny swordsman came across as “Puss in Boots” from Shrek, with size being the only distinguishing factor. It was a bad move from the director and producer, Andrew Adamson, who worked on Shrek before. Yes, Adamson, we know that Puss was a success but there’s no need to put a carbon copy into other movies.
Lesson #6: Are those Ents from LOTR? Is the train from Harry Potter?
The trees that rose to fight brought back memories of the March of the Ents from the second installment “The Two Towers” of the Lord of the Rings, while the rushing train scene was almost akin to that in Harry Potter. Not forgetting the Poseidon-like river creature that swoops down on all the Telmarine soldiers. Forget Narnia, just go rent the Lord of the Rings DVD which would be far more rewarding to watch.
Lesson #7: It’s a movie, not a flipchart calendar.
Speaking to cinema-goers after the show, UrbanWire found that their favourite part of the movie was the beautiful “paradise-like” beach where the 4 children played at. “I wonder where it was filmed!” exclaimed 16-year-old Kieran Dass. Oh dear! This is supposed to be The Chronicles of Narnia, an epic written by the legendary C.S. Lewis! The mention of the most memorable scene bring of the scenery reminds me of the movie Jumper. What a disappointment. It goes to show how the movie failed since the audience first recalls the landscapes, not the great cinematography or the characters.
Lesson #8: Who threw the characters out of the window?
The Pesenvie children save the movie with Peter’s chivalry (and cringing duel), Edmund’s logic, Susan’s red arrows (her character isn’t strong enough to mention much) and of course the brave young Lucy. The lack of character development was the movie’s downfall. Looks like the producers opted to dwell more on the theme of “fighting for a good cause” rather than to show more of the children. Speaking of which, do not blink during the scene when the great Aslan the Lion appears. (voiced by Liam Neeson) Seeing that he is given a record-breaking time of just 5 minutes onscreen, you better keep your eyes wide open for the (supposedly) main character.
Being yet another “tweenager” Disney movie, one can guess that romance had its own part to play. From Susan dissing the poor bespectacled guy at the start of the movie (who looked way older than the schoolboy he was cast for) to finally falling for Prince Caspian, Disney plants its trademark stamp of romance into Narnia. To curious moviegoers: Susan’s kiss with Prince Caspian is not part of the original text.
Lesson #10: A cheesy ending to the Narnian adventure
In fact, UrbanWire noticed that Susan’s goodbye kiss drew different reactions from moviegoers. Groups of girls stared accusingly at the screen, thinking how unfair it was that Susan kissed Caspian. Children below 10 giggled while pointing at the screen, while their parents asked them to close their eyes! The kiss coupled with Regina Spektor’s “The Call”, which speaks of accidental love, made the whole ending rather disappointing for an action-packed movie.
With the next sequel “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” projected for release in May 2009, it is good news to UrbanWire that Disney Pictures and Walden Media have chosen Michael Apted from the Directors Guild of America for director. Perhaps he can give Narniaa new lease of life.
UrbanWire gives The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian two ratings –
3 out of 5 stars (for kids who probably wouldn’t be bothered by the dragged out 2 ½ hours long show and the similarities to Shrek, LOTR and Harry Potter)<
1.5 out of 5 stars (for discerning adults)
Movie Details
Opens: May 29
Movie Rating: PG
Genre: Family / Fantasy / Action
Running Time: 145 mins
Language: English
Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes
Director: Andrew Adamson
Images courtesy of Buena Vista International.