'Prince Caspian': A Bit of a (Royal) Bore

By Martha Brockenbrough
MSN Cinemama

If you like British royalty, there's a good chance you will really like "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the latest of C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" books to leap to the big screen. That's because the movie, while lovely, is stiff, prim and obsessed enough with past military glory that it's just the tiniest bit dull.

It also has limited appeal as a family movie because there is so much fighting in it. It's not particularly bloody, but the battle scenes and individual tussles could be enough to upset young or sensitive viewers. It's rated PG for this reason, and with much of the plot depending on this and palace intrigues, kids will need a certain maturity level to follow along during the film's nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time.

"Prince Caspian" tells the story of a Telmarine prince running for his life. He's the rightful ruler of the land once known as Narnia, but his uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) wants to put his own son on the throne. Miraz's men chase Caspian into the woods, where the prince stumbles upon the Narnians of old, who've been banished there by the Telmarines.

When he blows the magical horn once used by the kings and queens of Narnia, help comes -- in the form of the four Pevensie children, who have spent a year back in England after their previous adventure in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

From there, the plot is what you might expect: a run-up to a big fight between the Narnians and the Telmarines. As you also might expect from a Lewis movie, there are big themes to ponder, specifically the importance of faith as the means to salvation.

What's in It for Kids

The "Narnia" series is a beloved fantasy for kids because it zooms to the heart of what so many children desire: to be kings and queens somewhere -- preferably with talking animals and really bitchin' armor, weapons and a magical cure-all-injuries potion.

They're also beautifully written books that so far haven't translated quite as successfully to the screen. Not that kids are really going to care, though. The movies, co-produced by Lewis' stepson, remain largely faithful to the books. The animals do talk. And the armor is glorious, even if High King Peter doesn't always remember to keep his helmet on.

Still, the storytelling in this movie feels more mechanical than magical, and even if kids can't articulate that, they're likely to feel it.

The scene where the Narnians agree to follow Prince Caspian is particularly bad. He's given them no reason to do so. The big danger here is that kids will walk away from the movie thinking centaurs are both stupid and pompous. On second thought, though, maybe it's not all that awful. They will have a solid understanding of what it means to be a horse's ... never mind.

There is one magical sequence that will delight kids, and that is a scene in which the heroes sneak into a castle on the backs of some dazzling mythological beasts. It's a lot of fun, as is the mouse-cam that tracks the noble, rapier-wielding rodent Reepicheep (Eddie Izzard).

What's more, the actors who play the Pevensie kids have stepped up their game. The two older ones, Peter and Susan (William Moseley and Anna Popplewell), are by turns arrogant and sour in a way that serves the plot nicely. The younger ones, Edmund and Lucy, (Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley), retain their appeal.

Prince Caspian himself, played by a dreamy-looking Ben Barnes, never quite musters the gravitas you'd hope for from the leader of the ultimate kid-fantasy world. He's the difference between a boy-band singer and, say, Pavarotti. He has excellent hair and a slim waist, but he feels a long way from legendary.

What's in It for Grown-ups

For parents who want a way to talk with their kids about faith, this movie is it. Though Christianity is never mentioned, its tenets echo a driving theme in this story, in which the youngest and most pure has the most faith. She has to find the courage to hold on to it despite the doubting of others and lack of proof.

Likewise, one of the movie's more dramatic moments deals with the power of temptation, and how important it is to resist doing the wrong thing, even if it will achieve your goals. Here, a return of Tilda Swinton's scary White Witch character provides a dazzling visual treat.

So will Christian families support this film? Given the boycott uproar that preceded "The Golden Compass," which was written as a counterpoint to Lewis' ardent Christianity, it's been interesting that there has been no correspondingly loud call to support the Narnia films. Is the feeling out there and just ignored by the media?

Regardless of your religious views, all parents should enjoy the treat that is a Peter Dinklage performance. He stole scenes in "Elf," "Underdog," and most of all, "Lassie." Here, he's Trumpkin the dwarf, and even when he has the better part of his face covered by a nasty gag, he communicates more with his eyes than many better-known actors do with their entire bodies.

He's incredible, and his Trumpkin is at once bitter, jaded and hopeful. Sort of like anyone headed into a movie theater to see how a favorite book looks on the big screen.

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Martha Brockenbrough is Cinemama for the Parents' Movie Guide on MSN. She is also the author of "It Could Happen to You: Diary of a Pregnancy and Beyond" and the founder of SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. She writes a fun-with-kids column for Cranium.com, as well as an educational humor column for Encarta. Check out her Web site.

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