Cast:
- Ben Barnes ... Prince Caspian
- Georgie Henley ... Lucy Pevensie
- Skandar Keynes ... Edmund Pevensie
- William Moseley ... Peter Pevensie
- Anna Popplewell ... Susan Pevensie
- Sergio Castellitto ... King Miraz
- Peter Dinklage ... Trumpkin
- Warwick Davis ... Nikabrik
- Vincent Grass ... Doctor Cornelius
- Pierfrancesco Favino ... General Glozell
- Liam Neeson ... Aslan (voice)
- Sim Evan-Jones ... Peepiceek (voice)
- Eddie Izzard ... Reepicheep (voice)
Directed by Andrew Adamson. Screenplay Andrew Adamson & Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. Based on the Novel by C.S. Lewis. Walt Disney Pictures. Released May 16, 2008.
Plot Summary
Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy Pevensie (William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, and Georgie Henley) have been back in England a year, returned to being children after growing up as Narnia's kings and queens. But in that time centuries have elapsed in Narnia, during which the Telemarines have invaded Narnia and hunted its magical inhabitants nearly to extinction.
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir, is forced to flee when his uncle, the regent Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), fathers a son of his own and decides to eliminate Caspian. Pursued into the woods he encounters Narnian dwarfs and, believing himself in danger, blows the Susan's magical horn, which always brings aid: in this case, the four Pevensies themselves.
Startled to find Narnia has become wilder and more dangerous, the Pevensies back Caspian's effort to defeat his own people and restore Narnia to its old inhabitants, but internal disagreements and the overwhelming strength of Miraz's forces put all of the Narnians in jeopardy. And where is Aslan?
The Pevensies Return
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a gorgeous film, like its predecessor, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: the mystical realm of Narnia and the undertow of magic that lies beneath its surface are effectively realized, and the battle sequences -- a hallmark of the first film -- are striking. This is a darker, more savage Narnia, and this underlies every moment of the film: the Pevensies are less confident and less connected than they were before, thrust into a Narnia they don't fully relate to.
The side effect of this unease is to make the Pevensies seem like guest stars in their own film. In a way this is very much the point: they might have expected to return to the glory and fame they left behind when they left Narnia 1300 years ago, but the other world has gone on without them, and respect for their legends mixes with resentment at their having abandoned their realm to the ruthless Telemarines.
But whether it's the point or not, the four leads' disconnect from their surroundings makes for an unbalanced atmosphere, compounded by Ben Barnes's superior charisma. Even though Caspian is less conflicted than Peter and his problems, in a way, are simpler, William Moseley seems to be visibly struggling to hold the screen whenever Caspian is around, as if he were an understudy called to stand in at the last moment. When a film has two heroes, they both must be equally strong, but Peter's inner conflict doesn't always translate into compelling onscreen presence.
Hero Dissonance
The other three Pevensies get the job done, despite the "Visitor" badges they likewise seem to be wearing. Skandar Keynes communicates a maturity for Edmund quietly superior to Peter's -- he believes Lucy when she says she saw Aslan, and handles a confrontation with an unexpected villain that both Peter and Caspian botch. Anna Popplewell shows a hardier Susan, and Georgie Henley remains the adorable child who sees and understands what grown-ups (but isn't she a grown-up, having aged with the others in the last movie?) do not.
But with the Pevensies subordinated and no lovable Narnians like Mr. Tumnus to hold our interest (the closest we have is the dour and sad-eyed dwarf Trumpkin, played by the excellent Peter Dinklage, and an overly cutesy swashbuckling mouse-warrior voiced by Eddie Izzard), the movie is handed over outright to Barnes, who unfortunately has little to do other than to want his rightful position and figure out whether to fight with Peter. As the villain Miraz, Sergio Castellitto curls his lips and deals out orders of death with grim contempt: there's no nuance to it but it's well done for what it is.
Real Fantasy
What redeems Prince Caspian are its powerful visuals and the effectiveness with which it communicates how painful and funny and melancholy even fantasy can be. For all that fairy stories like Stardust and (for that matter) the first Narnia film may be endearing in their happily-ever-after tidiness, perhaps fantasy is more effective in places that seem more real: magical realms where magic cannot be the solution, where the heroes endure suffering and don't always have that moment of brilliance that leads to success. The ultimate expression of this is The Lord of the Rings, whose hero cannot in the end enjoy the peace he has brought Middle-Earth; the bones are there in what Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis wrote for material that is just as poignant.
There's a scene in Prince Caspian where Peter realizes that dozens of Narnians will die gruesomely at Miraz's hands as a result of his failure, and his helpless agony was one of the most real moments of the film. In that moment I embraced this film, awkwardness and all, and I hope that the two further Narnia films (planned for 2010 and 2011) will further explore the power that comes from making fantasy worlds more dangerous and uncontrolled.
