Prince Caspian
advertisement
New DVDs Prince Caspian (PG)
By Anna RobertsNovember 27, 2008
In the days before Hogwarts and Harry Potter, Narnia ruled the bookshelves.
CS Lewis’ classic series abut a fantasy land was rightly considered a classic and so – in the late 1980s – the BBC made its fantastic version.
Then, a few years ago, Hollywood got its hands on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Although it was good it wasn’t a patch on the Beeb’s version.
Now Prince Caspian has come to the big screen. In real time a year has passed and the children – Edmund, Susan, Lucy and Peter – are back to normal London life.
They are at the tube station one day on their way to school, when something goes funny. Storms, shaking ...
A few minutes later, the four discover they are back in Narnia. Hundreds of years have passed and Prince Caspian has called them.
Caspian’s uncle – who murdered his dad – has just had a son who will be heir to his throne. No longer needing Caspian, he tries to kill him.
But Caspian is not one to bow so easy and vows – with the support of all the previously ‘extinct’ Narnians – to restore Narnia to its true state.
There are of course problems. Peter and Caspian seem to have a bit of a battle of the egos going on, while some of the Narnia children are reluctant to believe in the power of lion Aslan.
Needless to say among a backdrop of beautiful scenery, melodramatic music and battles, the fight to – once again – rescue Narnia from evil.
There is no doubt that CS Lewis was a top writer, but there is also no denying that Prince Caspian – especially when compared to its two predecessors and The Silver Chair, is not his best work.
The problem with Narnia is threefold. It stars mainly children. It also comes across a little bit samey – when you’ve seen one battle, you have seen them all...
Then there is the same flaw there is with all CS Lewis’ books – the incredibly religious undertones.
Good versus evil, believe in the Lord, blah, blah, blah. You know the good is going to be victorious. So what’s the point in watching?
Browse Sections
