Catholic in Film School

Yes, I am fully aware that’s not the name of the film, but throughout the entire movie that little voice inside my head kept going, “Oh Prince Caspian, you’re so dreamy!”

I’m kidding.

The movie starts off with the birth of Prince Caspian’s nephew. It’s now been a thousand-and-something years since the “sons and daughters of Adam” left Narnia for London, and with the birth of the new heir, Prince Caspian’s head is on the chopping block to make room on the throne for the new little one. With the help of his professor, Prince Caspian escapes his castle in the dead of night and meets a few “Narnians” (much to his surprise since he thought talking animals were just legends), and blows Susan’s horn which magically summons our favorite characters back to Narnia.

From then the usual battles and folklore take up the rest of the 2 1/2 hours of our lives…boy this movie was long…

I enjoyed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but there were parts of the film that disappointed me. With that being said I must say I was impressed this time around. Every level was “upped” a notch. Whoever did the cinematography deserves at least two or three awards–the battle sequences were bigger, badder, and much more thrilling than the first movie. In one scene where Peter fights King Miraz, Prince Caspian’s evil dictator uncle, the camera dollies from a low angle in a circular motion so that the fight is like a dance, a thrilling, iron-clad dance. I loved it!

Various one-liners provided some comic relief, an element that was missing from the first movie. My particular favorites were the 11 Micetro, a band of witty talking mice, and the dwarves who help our characters along their journey.

Now let’s talk about Prince Caspian, played by 26 year-old British actor Ben Barnes, who I totally fell for in the trailer. If you ignore the fake Latin accent that was incredibly irritating at times, he actually delivers a very convincing performance. (And as I expected, William Moseley did a bang up job as well.) Boys like to fight each other, but add in the stakes of innocent lives and the drama heightens. The conflict between Caspian, a prince, and the high king Peter with regard to decisions and plans of action was palpable and entertaining to watch.

Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy all make incredible transformations in the film. Peter has to deal with his leadership mistakes, Susan with her doubt, Edmund with his past sins committed in the last movie, and Lucy with her fears of what must be done to save the kingdom. Although this movie is more violent than the first, and there was actually one scene that kind of freaked me out in which the White Witch makes a cameo, I’d recommend this movie to families. Don’t take the little kids along, but age 8 and up should be fine, and I’m sure little boys will get a kick out of all of the knights and chivalry.

Update 6/1: The videos I had were removed, so here’s a clip of both William Moseley and Ben Barnes being interviewed together on “The Sauce.”

Pax Christi, Rebecca.