MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Rated PG

Directed by Andrew Adamson.  Starring Ben Barnes, William Moseley.

Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

After returning home to England after a time of fantastic adventures in the magical land of Narnia (as seen in 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), the Pevensie children are swept away a year later to find the magic kingdom in ruins and the Narnians in hiding from the evil power of the Telmarine dynasty.  Fortunately, there’s one good scion in the Telmarine family and it is Prince Caspian (Barnes) who has escaped an assassination attempt just in time to join forces with the Narnians -- a ragtag bunch of dwarves, centaurs, minotaurs, talking animals and Pevensie royalty -- to take back the kingdom.  The symbolic presence of Christ, in the form of Aslan the Lion, also shows up eventually to lend a paw and some first-rate moral support.  While the first film in the series had some real moral struggles in the storyline, this movie isn’t much more than a big medieval battle film.  There are a couple of amusing new characters and some clever wisecracks sprinkled in with the action, but Prince Caspian is a pretty undistinguished movie overall.  I would have loved to see some real swordplay using stunt doubles rather than the heavily-edited cutting that passes for “action” these days.  And I confess that if I didn’t know already that this was a Christian fantasy series, I never would have guessed it by viewing this installment. I even downloaded a Christian “study guide” for this film – with scriptural references! – And I still felt that the writer of the curriculum was projecting meaning into the film rather than responding to what was actually on screen.  The young actors who play the Pevensies are all good and I really want this series to continue, but those hoping to begin theological discussions with Narnia would be better served walking into that wardrobe one more time rather than spending a night with Prince Caspian.

Pitchfork Rating: Two halos. (The C.S. Lewis fantasy series seems less spiritual and more generic the second time around.)   One pitchfork. (For a lot of bloodless violence, in which many people die.)

COMMENTS!

I took two granddaughters to see Prince Caspian and like Bruce, was disappointed that there was not more of a spiritual emphasis like there was in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. There was little to suggest that it has a Christian background. The girls enjoyed the movie, but I wish I could have talked to them more about the significance of good over evil like I did after the first movie where I told them that Aslan was a symbol of Christ and with His death and resurrection brought hope to the Narnians and to the family. I hope that the next installment returns to the spiritual roots of the books by C.S. Lewis.

Wayne A. Hogue - Retired

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