I’m a really huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia series by my favorite author, C S Lewis, so I was very excited to see the movie. It was a good thing that I decided early on that I would enjoy it as a movie on its own, and not as the movie version of my favorite book. I’m glad I did, because otherwise I’d be appalled at the number of liberties they took with the plot (warning: spoiler alert!).

That’s not saying I didn’t enjoy the movie though, because I really did. Ben Barnes was amazing as Prince Caspian the Tenth, as were William Moseley as Peter, Anna Popplewell as Susan, Skandar Keynes as Edmund and Georgie Henley as Lucy. I am now officially a fan of director Andrew Adamson, who directed the first Narnia movie as well as Shrek 1 and 2.

I kind of wish he incorporated some flashback scenes though, such as when the Pevensies first realized they were in Cair Paravel (Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund were standing in the exact same place as they were during their coronation) and when they first saw the stone table split into two in Aslan’s How.

COMMENTS ON THE PLOT

I thought the back-story was a bit underdeveloped, especially with regards to the identity of the Telmarines and Prince Caspian. I’m not sure if a person who watches this without having read the book first can completely understand the complexity of the story. As previously mentioned, there were a lot of changes in the story, such as the timing when Prince Caspian blew the horn. In the movie, he blew it when he was caught by Trumpkin, Nikabrik and Trufflehunter; in the book, he blew it when the old Narnia were already assembled and have begun fighting against the Telmarines. Another change was how Trumpkin was captured by the Telmarines. In the book, he was captured on his way to the Lantern Waste (or the lamp post where Lucy first entered Narnia) to meet the ancient kings and queens whom they were expecting. In the movie, he was captured when he tried to stop the Telmarines from getting at Caspian at the woods.

COMMENTS ON THE CHARACTERS

Most of the characters were a bit different from the books, although the changes did add more drama to the movie. Trumpkin was a little too surly and morose – I don’t remember seeing him smile even once in the entire movie. Peter seemed to be going through an angry adolescent stage where he wants to call all the shots and yet does not want to take the blame when things go wrong. Prince Caspian was not as deferential towards the four ancient kings and queens as I would expect him to be (saying to Peter, “You’re not exactly what I expected,” to which Edmund retorted, “Neither are you.”) And Aslan was a near non-entity in this movie, only appearing towards the end. There was also the power struggle between Caspian and Peter, which was an interesting angle; although in the book Peter was quick to assure the other that he wasn’t there to steal the throne, but to help him claim it.

I think they did a fantastic job with the dashing Reepicheep the mouse, which is why I really hope they do The Silver Chair too, so that I can see what Andrew Adamson (or Michael Apted perhaps?) can do with my all-time favorite character, Puddleglum the marshwiggle. They were also able to give more depth to the character of Caspian’s Uncle Miraz, who “looks as if he’d be equally at home starring in ‘300′” as it says in one review. In the movie, Susan is a warrior (unlike in the book, where Aslan did not want the girls to participate in the battle) and Lucy remains childlike and pure of heart, that for a time she is the only one to see Aslan. Edmund’s character was the most interesting for me though – there’s an emotional maturity about him now compared to the previous movie, plus he shows some dry British humor as well.

There was very little screen time for Trufflehunter though, who is the embodiment of steadfast, unwavering faith in Aslan, and of Dr. Cornelius, who played a bigger part in the book. And there was only a brief appearance by the funny, lovable bulgy bear! In the book, I love the part when he was allowed to be one of the marshals for the duel with Miraz, and Peter told him, “But you must not suck your paws.” He looked shocked and replied, “Of course not!” until Trumpkin pointed out that he was actually sucking his paws at that very moment.

COMMENTS ON THE CHRISTIAN THEME

Prince Caspian is not as overtly Christian as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the pivotal scene of which was the death and resurrection of Aslan, which mirrors Jesus. I think the main Christian theme in this movie would be faith in God even when he seems so far away. I particularly love the part when Peter and Caspian were arguing about war strategy, and Lucy said, “Have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?” I also like the part when the spirit of the White Witch reemerges and tempts both Caspian and Peter into calling her back to life. Edmund, perhaps in an attempt to make up for his betrayal in the first movie, destroyed the ice wall of the White Witch (this part wasn’t in the book though) because he knew that only Aslan could help them.

OTHER COMMENTS

Curiously, there were portions reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. One was when Dr. Cornelius woke up Caspian to warn him of the attempt on his life that night. There’s a shot of Caspian peeking through the door of an adjacent room while the Telmarines shot arrows presumably at the sleeping form of Caspian, and feathers got strewn about the room. This reminded me of the scene where Aragorn (who was still called Strider at that time) moved the hobbits to a different room of the inn they were staying at to warn them of the danger. Later that night, they watched the Black Riders attacking what they thought were the sleeping forms of the Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, and feathers got strewn about the room as well. Another was the rising of the river god towards the end of the last battle, which reminded me of the time Arwen used elvish magic on the river to destroy the Black Riders following her and the injured Frodo. There was also the scene where Edmund seemed to fall off the balcony to be borne by a griffin, which reminded me of Gandalf jumping off the rooftop of Saruman’s tower, only to be carried away by another huge bird. And of course, there were the dryads (trees) at the end, which reminded me of the Ents.

It seems that this movie is pretty much getting mixed reviews from what I can see from the internet, but I found a review from Plugged In which I particularly liked. I for one loved this movie as much as I loved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I can’t wait for the next Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, to start filming.