It would be too easy to begin this with a C.S.Lewis rant. Too obvious and unfair to a much younger me who loved the books and – wiser perhaps than I am today – could see past the allegory to the story beneath. Still, when I heard that Disney were turning the classics into films my heart sank a little.
I was moderately surprised to find myself quite enjoying the live action version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. That’s why I went to see Prince Caspian and that’s why I was a bit disappointed.
For the uninitiated: Prince Caspian picks up the story of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy returning to school twelve months after their adventures in Narnia. Yanked back to Narnia they find things not as they left them, their castle an abandoned ruin and the landscape changed by the ravages of time. It’s been a tad longer than a year for Narnia. It’s not long before they find themselves embroiled once more in a battle for Narnia.
I could tell you more but I’m not going to. I know I’m a tease.
There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the film on its own. The children’s performance is – as it was in the first – pretty impressive and they carry the film well as does Ben Barnes as Caspian. I have to confess I think Sergio Castellito steals the show as Miraz and Peter Dinklage seems to have walked out of my head onto the screen.
Still.
It’s Susan. It’s always Susan. Not Anna Poplewell – a talent to watch methinks – but the actual character. The liberties taken with the original book Prince Caspian are in large part to make the film hang together but you can see director Andrew Adamson pondering the problem. In the books Lewis’s handling of Susan as they head into the climactic Last Battle (if they even make it) is amongst the most problematic elements of the chronicles. I’m not sure where they’re going with it but the handling of her character was at times brilliant (battle sequences/empowered female/go Susan) and at other times painful (kiss…too much). It jarred.
It’s worth a watch. Particularly if you liked the first film but die hard fans of the books may find themselves wincing and the violence will be a bit much for parents of young children*. Good effort but I’m still nervous about The Last Battle…and now I come to think of it The Voyage of The Dawntreader could wind up being a minefield. Interesting times. Shutting up now.
*The children will be fine you understand. It’s generally the parents sat next to them who dislike it.
Hejsa!
Thank you for the review! I also saw Prince Caspian a few days ago.
I am not sure what you mean with Susan. What is the problem with her character? I have read all 7 books more than once, and don’t remember a problem as such with her.
Hi Lisa,
This wasn’t my best review. The problem regarding Susan is to do with the way C.S.Lewis deals with her in the subsequent Narnia books, specifically The Last Battle.
The first problem is that it’s just sloppy, she’s a major character in the most popular books in the series and yet she’s barely mentioned. It breaks the spell.
The second and larger issue is the reason given for her being denied access to the uber Narnia and that is because she has chosen to enjoy lipstick and boys…hardly a hanging offence. Growing up, I loved the Narnia books but even as a child I thought that a tad harsh. As an adult it actually makes me quite cross.
Personally I doubt they’ll make The Last Battle (the racial aspects of the book would be a minefield) and so it’s less likely to be an issue but they did draw attention to Susan starting to take an interest in boys. Something that if they do go down the same route as C.S. Lewis I can’t see a modern audience buying it.
Anyway. That’s enough rubbish from me.
Neil
Hejsa!
Thank you for the clarification.
Actually it was a strong message to me, that Susans access was denied, because in part she denied it to herself by growing up – a certain aspect of Narnia was that you had to believe in it. And she instead chose to grow up and not believe in childish things anymore.
Lise