Movie Reviews: Prince Caspian

I have missed Narnia.

And I know that I was expecting bit more out of the filmmakers since the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I knew plot changes were added, I knew it would be more intense. I hoped beyond hoped that it would still be the Narnia that I love so dearly. And it was.

The magic of the world Lewis created is ever present in this latest film. I kept thinking during the movie that many of the events could happen "only in Narnia." It was almost a sigh of relief that the film jumped from England to Narnia within the first 10 minutes or so; it was so good to get back.

All this to say, I was disappointed in some aspects of the movie.

Add a Little Here and a Little There...

The Pevensies are older and with age comes change. Yet (and perhaps I am an old stickler for staying true to the story) it doesn't mean the story has to be changed. One of the key alterations were the additudes of the two eldest, Peter and Susan. Peter first.

He is struggling with the fact he is no longer a king. He is a bit tiffed at having to return to the "normal" world. Who can blame him? Pride combines with stubbornness to produce a real mess. Peter wants to prove himself, that he "coulda been (or still is) a contender." In this spirit, a raid on Miraz's castle is formed and ends up costing the lives of many Narnians. I even got a bit choked up when at one point part of the group has escaped and the other part is trapped inside the castle with no way to out.

I sympathize with Peter. As he tells Lucy, he just wants proof that Aslan is real, that he called them, and that he has a plan for them. But don't we all? Lucy comes back with, "Well, maybe we need to prove ourselves to him." Unfortunately, she didn't see the faces of the Narnians who knew they couldn't escape the doom descending upon them in the castle when Peter's attack failed. Attempting to prove our worth or maturity won't work and Peter learned that the hard way. We under no certain terms can ever prove ourselves to God. On the contrary, God proved himself to us, establishing himself as both just and the justifier of our sins (Romans 3:16).

On to Susan. I'll admit, I may be too hard on female characters in movies. Nevertheless, I stand by my conviction that this portrayal of Susan was really off the mark. The actress who plays Susan is pretty and rightly so. Queen Susan was the fairest of all while in Narnia. However, this beauty comes off as too much of Hollywood's babe mentality. Susan catches the eye of Prince Caspian. She says some of those phrases we all know from the romantic movies, such as "You may need to call me sometime." And she even kisses Caspian in the end! There were audible groans and a few forehead slaps after that one in the theater.

Somehow I don't see Lewis's Susan doing any of those things. It was written in one of the books that Susan received at her court the requests of many lords for her hand in marriage yet she was unswayed by all of them. She wasn't easily wooed. Was she a strong woman? Yes, but she didn't need to fight single-handily in the woods against Telmarines to prove it (another addition to the story I didn't quite appreciate).

Now could there be room for creative liberty in Lewis's story for developing typical teenage feelings and attitudes? Perhaps. But as we must remember, these were no ordinary children. These were kings and queens. These were called by Aslan.

Steadfast

Lucy (and Edmund) was very much the same. She was a bit taller and she had grown up but she as a Lewis character was still there.

It was almost as if Lucy was the only character who understood that major changes had been made to the story and she wasn't impressed with them. Peter wants to charge the castle and Caspian wants to hunker down in Aslan's How. Lucy pipes up with, "But you only seem to think there are two options." Anyone for Lewis's idea for the story?

In another scene, Susan bashfully looks down from a horse at Caspian and tells him to keep the horn because he may need to call her again. Lucy repeats the line to Susan later in the story as if to say, "What was that?!" She never got a full explanation.

Finally, when Susan runs back to Caspian for her kiss, Lucy's jaw drops and she says, "I don't think I will understand that until I am a grown up." I didn't understand it so I doubt she ever will.

Even with these major changes, the magic of Narnia was there. The first film had the story but lacked the magic. This one has the magic but lacked the fullness of the story Lewis penned. Maybe the next film will prove itself to combine both elements.

Conclusion

I'll say it again, I have missed Narnia.

Perhaps as much as the four Pevensie children did. However, while they have tasted the sweetness of Aslan's breath and have felt the warmth of his golden mane, I am still waiting for that day. The day when "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). See the movie if for nothing else to be stirred with the longing to move beyond this world into the next; to move "further up, and further in"; to kneel before the great Lion who isn't a tame lion but loves us and has "called us out of our darkness into his marvelous light," according to his purpose (1 Peter 2:9).

-- HM