The sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a different sort of movie. First, the four Pevensie children have been to Narnia once before, and they are smarter, more worldly, and highly skilled at archery and such. Although there is some surprise as they find that the year that has passed for them in London has lasted centuries on Narnia, the film launches much more quickly into the main plotline. This involves the efforts of the Narnians and their allies (inlcuding the Pevensies) to topple a usurper to the throne, whose rightful heir is young Caspian (Ben Barnes). Basically, it’s a fairly typical story of good and evil, but enough intricacies exist that, compared to the earlier film, children may be confused.
Second, while somehow the movie is rated PG, not PG-13, it is noticeably more violent than the first, and overall darker in tone. The brutality of war is more implied than shown, but it’s there all the same. Villainous King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) has a Mediterranean accent, and his regime somehow had the feel of Inquistion-era Spain. Leavening this somewhat is an element of humor that was largely missing before, yet never seems unnatural. Even a swashbuckling mouse, reminiscent of the character voiced by Antonio Banderas in the Shrek movies, is welcome comic relief.
Third, the allegorical Christian elements are more pervasive. For much of the movie the lion Aslan, the Christ analogue, is unseen; only Lucy, the youngest has faith that he will return. This was, to me, fine. However, I less cared for the the climax, which involves a deus ex machina in which the deus is quite literally God, or his Narnian counterpart. Not to give away anything, but I’d have rather seen the Pevensies save the day rather than the special-effects cavalry. (Admittedly, the effects are all impressive, save perhaps for one involving the return of another character from volume one.)
Because of its lighter tone and feeling of newness, as well as a less familiar story arc, I liked the first movie better, but this one was skillfully enough done that I expect many people, especially adults, will take the opposite view. The creative forces behind the first movie are still there, including director Andrew Adamson, who fills the screen with fierce battle scenes, gorgeous overhead shots, and a variety of new creatures and personages previously unseen. As before, I was most impressed by the women, Georgie Henley’s Lucy, and Anna Popplewell’s Susan, but brothers Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Peter (William Moseley) each have important parts in the story also.
IMDB link
viewed 5/1/08 (screening at Bridge); reviewed 5/22/08
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