The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Review
by Darren Provine (provine AT rowan DOT edu)June 1st, 2008
Few movies (or TV shows, or anything else) cover all the bases. Some movies are filled with dazzling special effects, but have flat characters whose only job is to say lines such as "The Megazatron is going to explode!" Others have better characters caught up in a ridiculous plot, or delivering preposterous dialogue.
That's tough enough, but some movies are based on books have to satisfy both people who read the book and those who didn't, making changes while remaining true to the author's vision. And a Narnia movie has to shoulder all that responsibility and more: as CS Lewis's epic series of books is a Christian parable, the movie also has to give us an Aslan who is appropriately regal. On that point, "Prince Caspian" bobbles the ball somewhat, but not catastrophically. Curiously, the worst example of getting Aslan wrong involves changing Lewis's dialogue to no apparent purpose. In the book, Lucy sees Aslan, and wants to go to him, but the others have not seen him and so they go a different way. Instead of going to Aslan, she follows them. When, at a later time, she finally catches up with him, she seems him bigger than before, and asks if he's grown. His answers no, "But every year you grow, you will find me bigger." Jesus does not grow: but as we grow, we can learn to see him better. Later in that interview, Lucy realises that she should have gone to Aslan alone if necessary, and asks whether everything would have worked out okay if she had. Aslan gives no answer, and she asks if she will ever know. His answer: "To know what *would* have happened, child? No. Nobody is ever told that."
In the movie, this interview is moved to a different point in the story, which is okay, but Aslan's lines above are changed to "Every year you grow, so shall I." and "We can never know what would have happened." Lewis wrote Aslan as a symbol of Christ: he knows many things we do not, and owes us no answers. At this point in the movie, Aslan seems more like a wise teacher, not an omnipotent Lord. Some changes will be inevitable when a book becomes a movie, but these strike me as pointless. (The moviemakers have apparently said that they did not realise that these small dialogue changes would be so commented upon and searched for meaning. It may be that they lack Lewis's understanding of the subtleties of English, about which I can say (a) most people do, and (b) maybe that's a reason to stick to Lewis's original wording.)
But as I say, though the ball is bobbled, it is not completely lost. Aslan is seen commanding the very elements, which appear at his word (well, roar) and then wait on his nod before they proceed. He restores some who are injured -- notably, not for their own merit, but due to the intercession of others -- and once all can see him, even those who did not believe in Lions accept his authority.
Well, okay, so you're thinking: but what about the rest? What about the plot and dialogue and cinematography? How is it as a *movie*?
As a movie, it mostly delivers. Many of the outdoor scenes are beautiful, and the effects that put human characters into computer- generated scenery works better than it did at times in "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe". The battle scenes are effective, and the plot does not play out as might be expected for such a story: the heroes face setbacks, have some measured successes, and yet relying on their own strength does not save them. There are clashes among the leaders on both sides, some more significant than others, about who is really in charge and what course of action to take next.
If you liked the book, you'll probably like the movie. If you've never read the book, the movie will still make sense to you. The story itself is weaker than the one which came before (it would be hard to top a retelling of the Fall, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection), but it does stand on its own as a reasonably interesting tale.
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