Mika Fabella

Fans of CS Lewis were generally very pleased with the first Narnia movie, the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, which grossed $56.6 million on its opening week. Now the second movie opens in theaters, & Narnia readers wonder whether this movie will live up to their expectations.

Well, I was lucky enough to watch Mellow Touch’s advanced screening of Prince Caspian, a week before the premiere date here in the Philippines . Being a Lewis fan, & moreover Prince Caspian being my current favorite book in the Chronicles of Narnia, let me tell you that… my opinion… *drumroll* of the movie… is….

Purists beware, Narnia seems to have succumbed to the film industry trend of changing the original story of a book to please a wider audience with the movie. That’s right. We have flashy CGI tricks, added action sequences that deviate considerably from the plot of the book, forced conflicts for drama, & forced love interests for intrigue.

*Warning: VERY SPOILERIFIC FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS*

There were several plot changes that the filmmakers put clearly to attract the older, more action-oriented audiences – the biggest of which was the night raid on Miraz’s castle. In the movie, the Narnians attack Miraz’s in the dead of night, as commanded by Peter. (Yes, this is very out of character for the High King, I’ll get to that later on.) I suppose that this sequence was put in to replace the lengthy siege at Aslan’s How in the book. While the action sequence certainly got my heart pounding, & showed off the special effects, creature design, & the swordmanship & archery skills of the actors, it was very un-Narnian.

And it really must have been something else in the Narnian air for this movie, because a lot of the characters seem to have lost themselves! Going back to LWW, I was very very pleased with Peter, which made him one of the best things in the first movie to me. In PC, however, he became one of the worst. It’s nothing against William Moseley’s acting, but more on the stark change of character of the High King of Narnia. From the beginning of the movie, readers will already notice a change when we find Peter in a scuffle in his first scene. It’s an even bigger step out of character when we find out that he started it the fight. PC portrays Peter as a frustrated boy who unwillingly lost his authority position in Narnia & wants it back. He is rash, aggressive, & ill-tempered throughout the movie. For lack of better words, he’s a quite a jerk.

Now, this new power-hungry Peter of course meets Caspian. While in the book Caspian’s youth prevents him from questioning the High King, the movie scratches that & puts Ben Barnes & William Moseley shooting dagger looks at each other instead. Caspian & the High King… Rivals??? If that didn’t get you shaking your head, what about a love interest for Caspian, in the form of Queen Susan the Gentle? (*cringe!*) It was never necessary in the books for romance between characters to develop, but movie-going audiences are different. So my fellow Lewis fans, we might have guessed that they would take that angle, esp with the two attractive actors playing the roles. However, whenever those hints of romance between Su & Caspian came up, I shook my head, cringed, covered my eyes, & writhed in my seat.

That’s not to say everything in the movie disappointed me. Peter Dinklage’s sarcastic & moody tone made Trumpkin even more lovable, despite being less cheerful than the book implies. And Reepicheep is not a disappointment at all, he’s everything you’ll ever want to see in a valiant & heroic knight of a mouse! The visual effects & fight scenes are spectacular. They do deliver & get your adrenaline going, particularly the main battle at the end. (That alone will be enough to get me to see the movie again, hehe.) They didn’t abandon the books entirely either. There is a small moment straight from the Horse & His Boy & a mention of the lands outside of Narnia, setting up the stage for Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

*SPOILERS END HERE*

However, I’m sad to say that while watching PC, I didn’t feel the awe that I felt while watching LWW. The spirit of the book is barely seen, & oftentimes, it did not feel like CS Lewis anymore. There’s no doubt that it will get Narnia outsiders into the books, & there’s no doubt that it isn’t a movie to miss. But for those who’ve read the book before watching the movie, you know the true magic isn’t on screen, but in the words of CS Lewis himself.