Movie Review: "Prince Caspian" (6.5/10)

By Old Man

The premise of the Narnia series is not without it's scientific backing: Some quantum physicists believe that sub-atomic matter is blinking in and out of existence in our physical world, and perhaps traveling back and forth between difference worlds across the universe, maybe even transversing dimensions. So in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, where four children walk through their grandfathers wardrobe and find themselves in a different world that is on a different time-space continuum, C.S. Lewis may not have been operating as much in the science fiction level that he initially thought.

So when the four siblings in Prince Caspian are called back into Narnia from the London Tube, it didn't take much suspension of disbelief for me to buy in. Unfortunately, some more basic parts of the movie made it more difficult.

Having enjoyed the Narnia books and having imagined the entire world in my head already, and coupled with that engaged in the sophistication of Lewis' writing, even in his children's books, Prince Caspian was destined to be a let down. Yet last night, while watching the movie, I finally realized the roots of my disappiontment with the series: It's missing a character.

The books lean on the omniscient narrator's voice - which is very present in the telling of the story, and isn't above commenting on the action to the reader, and even addressing the reader as the action is going on (ala Ron Howard in Arrested Development ). This allows the narrator to be another character in the book - you almost feel like you're hanging out at the Bird and Baby with the Inklings (his writing group - which included J.R.R.Tolkien and Charles Williams), having a pint while Lewis reads his latest manuscript.

What the movie is missing is the narrator, Lewis.

Disney's take on the book is moves furiously - filled with intense battle scenes, oddly reminiscient of the bright, shiny, graphic novel-esque computer imaging of 300. There's also a magnificent water god, cool minotaurs, and other belles and whistles. However, it lacked the depth and sense of strong characterization that the books benefit from. The acting seemed forced much of the time, and the romance (I'll spare you the details), like a few glaring parts of the movie, was an obvious Disney addition that wasn't in the book. Probably meant to lure in some more teenage moviegoers. The result is entertaining - but very piecemeal. The movie never gets into a rhythm or flow, it just jumps from "exciting, dramatic scene" to "exciting dramatic scene" and never stops to breath. And if everything is "exciting," then...nothing really is.

So Disney, here is my message for you: Stick to the books. Find a narrator, perhaps even Liam Neeson (the voice of Aslan), to provide commentary.

And reader, if you decide to see the movie (I'd rent it), understand that you are getting just as much Disney as Mr. Clives Staples Lewis.