Prince Caspian
(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
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Ideally, I should have reviewed Prince Caspian directly after I’d seen it. There’s been quite a lot of metaphorical water under the figurative bridge since then and for all the wonders and marvels on offer in the film, looking back I can’t say that I find it all that memorable. It’s very like the book in that it’s not as good as the first: the means of transporting the children to Narnia lack the simple magic and inspired mystery of stepping through an old wardrobe (although the movie makes efforts to do something more with that scene) and the majestic figure of Aslan, so impressively brought to life in the first movie, is an invisible presence for much of the adventure. Adventure is what it’s all about though, and the action is generally colourful and the battles well-realised and involving on a fairly superficial level. There’s a welcome cameo from Tilda Swinton as the White Queen, but she also reminds us that one of the things we’re missing in this one is a really great villain. Caspian’s a reasonably capable presence throughout, but not only does he take our attention away from the story of the kids, there’s rarely any real sense that he - or the kingdom of Narnia for that matter - is in danger. These are, at heart, problems that lie in the original book, but when translated into a movie, it’s worth upping the ante sometimes. To be fair, the scenes of the battle in the castle are the most effective, if only because we see the good creatures of Narnia pay a heavy price for the Prince’s mistakes. Other battles are, like the giant river spirit conjured to wreck the bridge, epic but lacking in substance. Peter’s one-on-one duel is better in that it brings the fight back to the personal level. There’s also an odd romantic subplot suggested for Susan which is doomed to conclude inconsequentially and as such leaves us wondering why the film-makers imagined it might be a good idea, but possibly this was born of their search for some additional level of emotional involvement for us. Bad news, people: it didn’t work. Still, none of this is to say it’s a bad film: there are plenty of saving graces in the visuals and in some character touches, not least of which is the mighty Reepicheep, fantastically realised, with the able assistance of Eddie Izzard in the voice department. The swashbuckling mouse is, for me, the star of this movie, and in that respect things are not so far removed from the book either. Kids, I’m sure, will love it - and if it gets them reading C S Lewis’ Narnia books, so much the better. Furthermore, these films continue to earn points for somehow being among the bloodiest and most violent childrens’ fantasy adventure movies ever - *without* actually offending the eye and/or sensibilities by having to actually show us the gore. As in the books, children - and (cute) animals - wield swords and bows and arrows, slaying humans and animals (only the bad ones, mind you) left, right and centre but that part is at least handled deftly and it’s not an impression you take away with you. You’d have to be mad, frankly, to find it offensive and if you embark on the journey in the spirit of adventure you’re likely to leave with the sense that it’s all good clean fun. Even if you have to cast your mind back to remember much of it two months’ later.