The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Review

As a fan of epic fantasies and magical worlds, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity of watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I was impressed with how the movie crew revived The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and was excited how they would do with Prince Caspian.

It was intriguing for me when it was released that Ben Barnes would play the role of Prince Caspian. The original story was about a child prince, after all. I believe that C.S. Lewis' goal was to portray the hero as innocent and pure, thus the character of a child.

But Ben Barnes is no child (quite obviously). One reason I can think of why the child prince was transformed into a grown-up Prince Caspian was to market the movie a little more. I think everybody can relate to the pull of an actor's presence in a movie. My sister definitely felt it with Ben Barnes cast as Prince Caspian. I doubt if she would've been as excited as she was if Prince Caspian remained a child in the new movie.

Having a grown-up Prince Caspian also modifies the audience market of the movie. Maybe the crew wanted to have more adult movie-goers to like the film. The Chronicles of Narnia is meant for children but with a grown-up hero featured in the stories, the audience market becomes broader.

Not that I am complaining that Ben Barnes was given Prince Caspian's role. He still pulled off an innocent childlike charm onscreen. It also made the story more believable for me. I mean, even when reading the book, one would be skeptic to think that a child would win in battle against his uncle and an army. It did say in the book that he was near that to Peter Pevensie's age, so they sought out somebody who could match up to William Moseley in terms of looks and charm.

I had one problem with Ben Barnes' performance, though: his accent. I don't see why he needed that accent in the role. Being British would be enough. I don't think that there was anything in the book, too, about Telmarines having an accent like that. It was distracting. I find it amusing that he modeled the accent after Mandy Patinkin's Inigo Montoya because I'm a fan of Inigo Montoya. But, really, I didn't like it on Ben Barnes' Prince Caspian.

The Pevensie cast was impressive. They're not that accomplished as actors and actresses yet, but they definitely have the goods. All four certainly improved since The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian zooms into the development of the Pevensie children, especially that of Peter's and Susan's. Well, the two elder Pevensies won't be coming back for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader so I guess it was only fair for them to have the spotlight in this movie.


I do not blame the arrogant turn that Peter's character had taken. I think it was only fitting that it was inserted in the movie because it made the characters more alive. William Moseley definitely carried the role pretty well. You can see by the look on his face in the fistfight scene how he's grown up from someone who used to be the High King. Anne Popplewell's Susan Pevensie is being emphasized as a strong modern woman. She's present and fighting in the battle scenes and also has this romance with Prince Caspian.

The romantic turn of the story was predictable. Of course. This love story really would never work. But it made the movie more moving and sensitive. What would an adventure movie be without love somewhere in between two characters that can look right for each other?

Georgie Henley reprised her role as the youngest Pevensie. She is still the Lucy we know, full of faith and understanding. Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie had the least exposure in the movie among the Pevensie cast. His role, though, perfectly brought out what was meant to be brought out in the film: his older brother's immaturity and arrogance. In Prince Caspian, Edmund has become mature and steady, as opposed to his traitorous role back in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.


The direction and storyline of the film needed more flow. I've thought of this many times over movies, but movies based on books should still be given more substance even if it is already a given that the audience knows how the story goes because of the books. I mean just because everybody already knows the story doesn't mean the film should be done in a somewhat pinched manner. The movie is already above two hours, I know, but I am willing to sit for more than that if it would have taken more for the movie to flow fully. I'm not saying that the movie was incomplete story-wise; just that there were times when I thought they just jumped to the next scene without a little transition.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the movie. The scenery and settings were impressive and beautiful. I expected nothing less from the special effects and I wasn't disappointed. It's not as brilliant as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it is still one of the must-see movies of the year!