Directed By Andrew Adamson; Screenplay By Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, & Stephen McFeely; Starring Georgie Henley, Skander Keynes, William Mosley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Sergio Castellitto.
Based on C.S. Lewis' classic 1951 novel of the same name, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian follows the Pevensie children, Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Lucy (Georgie Henley), as they all return to Narnia. For them, it was just one year after coming back from the magical kingdom to England through the wardrobe. Although in Narnian time, it was 1,300 years. Narnia has been overtaken by Telmarines, humans who once journeyed to Telmar through a fissure between the worlds. The native Narnians have been driven to the brink of extinction. When the corrupt King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) learns that his wife has birthed him a son, his nephew, Caspian (Ben Barnes) flees the kingdom and barely escapes an assassination attempt, his death ensuring Miraz and his line as the sole heirs to the throne. Upon his escape, Caspian signals for the ancient King and Queens of Narnia using Susan's long-lost magical horn just before being captured by native Narnians. Caspian convinces the Narnians that, unlike the other Telmarines, he wants to overthrow his uncle's iron-fisted rule. When he is finally joined by the Pevensie's, the heroes and all of the remaining Narnians set out to free themselves of the oppressive Telmarine rule once and for all.
My first introduction to the story of Prince Caspian was actually through this movie. I saw it with my older brother and his friends opening night on May 16th, 2008. I might’ve read the original novel since then, but that would’ve been a long time ago. I have seen this film at least couple times more since, but I don’t have a strong memory of what my thoughts were way back when. As for my thoughts on this recent rewatch...
Georgie Henley, Skander Keynes, William Mosley, and Anna Popplewell continue to work great together as the Pevensie children with such excellent chemistry. It’s also nice to see how each of their characters grew since The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe. Ben Barnes is both charismatic and strong as Prince Caspian, nailing this installment’s best character arc. Sergio Castellitto successfully creates a very Shakespearean villain out of King Miraz. One actor who I didn’t remember being in this movie at all until the opening credits is Peter Dinklage. Likely due to the fact that he wasn’t as well known as he is now (this was three years before achieving international recognition on Game of Thrones), but he’s so memorable here as the cynical dwarf, Trumpkin.
Director Andrew Adamson once again pulls off quite an epic scope. The cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub offers several stunning images. It especially shines in location shots as well as the action sequences. A lot of the visual effects (even by 2008 standards) hold up pretty well. Although it is kind of refreshing to see a little more practical work this time around. Harry Gregson-Williams’ musical score provides some nice new themes while also doing some callbacks to his work on the first film. However, the editing by Sim Evan-Jones is a mixed bag. He does some clever transitions between shots, but he does struggle a bit in the end climax. Mainly how it focuses a lot on the battle, but kind of makes the audience forget about one of the characters doing an important task in the middle of it. Not to mention that the pacing makes the whole movie feel its two-and-a-half hour duration.
Ever since its initial release, the darker tone and mature themes for a PG-rated film received polarizing responses from critics and audiences alike. Kind of similar to the backlash Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom faced upon release for its darker tone compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark. I will say that I admire the direction Prince Caspian went in. It certainly made for an interesting idea. I didn’t mind the tonal shift at all. Although I can see why a number of people had problems with it. In fact, producer Mark Johnson has since admitted that they made some mistakes with Prince Caspian, adding that it lacked some of the "wonder and magic of Narnia," was "a little bit too rough" for families, and was too much of a "boys' action movie." Luckily, there are some nice moments of comic relief.
In the end, Prince Caspian may not be as good as The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe, but it's still better than I remembered it. As Netflix is currently developing new iterations of The Chronicles of Narnia, I actually would be curious to see them adapt this story with a bit of a lighter tone. This movie is currently available to stream on Disney+.
Rating: 3.5/5
Based on C.S. Lewis' classic 1951 novel of the same name, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian follows the Pevensie children, Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Lucy (Georgie Henley), as they all return to Narnia. For them, it was just one year after coming back from the magical kingdom to England through the wardrobe. Although in Narnian time, it was 1,300 years. Narnia has been overtaken by Telmarines, humans who once journeyed to Telmar through a fissure between the worlds. The native Narnians have been driven to the brink of extinction. When the corrupt King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) learns that his wife has birthed him a son, his nephew, Caspian (Ben Barnes) flees the kingdom and barely escapes an assassination attempt, his death ensuring Miraz and his line as the sole heirs to the throne. Upon his escape, Caspian signals for the ancient King and Queens of Narnia using Susan's long-lost magical horn just before being captured by native Narnians. Caspian convinces the Narnians that, unlike the other Telmarines, he wants to overthrow his uncle's iron-fisted rule. When he is finally joined by the Pevensie's, the heroes and all of the remaining Narnians set out to free themselves of the oppressive Telmarine rule once and for all.
My first introduction to the story of Prince Caspian was actually through this movie. I saw it with my older brother and his friends opening night on May 16th, 2008. I might’ve read the original novel since then, but that would’ve been a long time ago. I have seen this film at least couple times more since, but I don’t have a strong memory of what my thoughts were way back when. As for my thoughts on this recent rewatch...
Georgie Henley, Skander Keynes, William Mosley, and Anna Popplewell continue to work great together as the Pevensie children with such excellent chemistry. It’s also nice to see how each of their characters grew since The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe. Ben Barnes is both charismatic and strong as Prince Caspian, nailing this installment’s best character arc. Sergio Castellitto successfully creates a very Shakespearean villain out of King Miraz. One actor who I didn’t remember being in this movie at all until the opening credits is Peter Dinklage. Likely due to the fact that he wasn’t as well known as he is now (this was three years before achieving international recognition on Game of Thrones), but he’s so memorable here as the cynical dwarf, Trumpkin.
Director Andrew Adamson once again pulls off quite an epic scope. The cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub offers several stunning images. It especially shines in location shots as well as the action sequences. A lot of the visual effects (even by 2008 standards) hold up pretty well. Although it is kind of refreshing to see a little more practical work this time around. Harry Gregson-Williams’ musical score provides some nice new themes while also doing some callbacks to his work on the first film. However, the editing by Sim Evan-Jones is a mixed bag. He does some clever transitions between shots, but he does struggle a bit in the end climax. Mainly how it focuses a lot on the battle, but kind of makes the audience forget about one of the characters doing an important task in the middle of it. Not to mention that the pacing makes the whole movie feel its two-and-a-half hour duration.
Ever since its initial release, the darker tone and mature themes for a PG-rated film received polarizing responses from critics and audiences alike. Kind of similar to the backlash Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom faced upon release for its darker tone compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark. I will say that I admire the direction Prince Caspian went in. It certainly made for an interesting idea. I didn’t mind the tonal shift at all. Although I can see why a number of people had problems with it. In fact, producer Mark Johnson has since admitted that they made some mistakes with Prince Caspian, adding that it lacked some of the "wonder and magic of Narnia," was "a little bit too rough" for families, and was too much of a "boys' action movie." Luckily, there are some nice moments of comic relief.
In the end, Prince Caspian may not be as good as The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe, but it's still better than I remembered it. As Netflix is currently developing new iterations of The Chronicles of Narnia, I actually would be curious to see them adapt this story with a bit of a lighter tone. This movie is currently available to stream on Disney+.
Rating: 3.5/5