Nuke's Blog
Periodic ramblings by an old geek…

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Rating:  

I don’t know whether I’m shocked how good this movie was, or I’m just kidding myself, but since it’s my first 5-star movie in a long time, I think it deserves a review to itself.

 

I read the Narnia books several years ago and started reading them to my children when the first movie was on its way.  I had originally planned to take the kids to this when it hit the theaters, but decided against it based on the reviews of too much violence.  I’m glad I waited for it to come out on DVD to preview, as I found it’s a bit too much for my kids still.  If you compare this to its closest cousins, the Lord of the Rings movies, then it pales by comparison in terms of violence.  I will definitely be letting the kids watch it a few years from now, as it seems appropriate for early or pre-teens. 

 

What I love the most about the movie is that it’s no longer appropriate for young children.  The books are primarily for young children, and mine are certainly disappointed they can’t watch the corresponding movie yet, but I think they’ll understand when they see it.  This book always felt a little light, but I could never quite put my finger on what was missing.  What they did to this movie was bring the story to life by infusing much more into the plot to fill those holes.  Normally, I would be really annoyed when a movie adds something not in the original book.  However, the raid on the castle, which wasn’t in the book, was a surprisingly great addition.  In that sequence alone, you see more of the conflict between King Peter and Prince Caspian, and you see Peter’s lack of faith/dependence on Aslan.  These are brushed upon in the book, but they are much clearer here, and it adds much maturity to the film.  The scenes involving Peter, Caspian and King Miraz are also far more mature than the conflicts with the White Witch in the first movie.  This is a very enjoyable movie for adults, though likely those who read the book will enjoy it that much more.

 

The special effects are as good or better than the first film, and the battle sequences are very well done.  This is certainly no Lord of the Rings, but the Narnia books were no Lord of the Rings either.  Neither were they meant to be.  However, I still can’t help but give it my highest rating.  Like the Lord of the Rings movies, the folks who put this film together pulled off something as good or better than the books themselves.  Hollywood has quite a problem doing that these days.  I can’t wait for the next films. :)

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