7/30/2019 Wk-080523- Narnia Prince Caspian

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8 Canadian Gazettte Mississippi Weekender - May 23, 2008katiebradford

Second Narnia movie much better than the first

Three years ago, the

first book in the classic

Chronicles of Narnia

series by C.S. Lewis was

brought to the big screen.

While reviews were mixed,

it was largely popular due

to its kid friendly nature,

and positive (and some say

predominantly Christian)

imagery. I was not too

keen on the first film, find-

ing it too childish with

sub-par writing and poor

acting from many of the

leads. I was apprehensive

to see the second film in

the series for this reason,

worrying that it would

fall into some of the same

traps and bore me for the

almost 2.5 hours of run-

ning time.

I am also not too keen

on the films because I

never have read the books.

This might be shocking to

many, as I am a massive,

embarrassingly enthu-

siastic Harry Potter fan;

however a childhood trau-ma involving the Narnia

television series made me

think the books to be evil.

I think it was the lions tor-

ture that did it for me, but

after watching Caspian, I

am willing to admit I may

have been wrong.

The film is much better

than the first, showing a

slightly darker side of the

world and improving on

many of the qualms from

the predecessor. It picks

up a year after the first

film left off, with Peter,

Susan, Edmund and Lucy

struggling to adjust to

their lives back in England

after living for decadesin another (far superior)

world. When the land ofNarnia is in danger again,

they are called back to help

fight the invading armies

of King Miraz, leader of

the Telmarines and uncle

to exiled Prince Caspian,

the rightful ruler of the

land. Minotaurs, centaurs,

bears, dwarfs and even

sword wielding mice fight

side by side in a battle of

epic proportions; and did

I mention those are the

good guys?

The film is far darker,

far funnier and much more

exciting than the first.

The acting has improveda great deal as well, and

the addition of Prince

Caspian adds an excellent

member to the cast, Ben

Barnes. Lucy is played,

again, by the enchanting

Georgie Henley, Edmund

by Skander Keynes, Susan

by Anna Popplewell and

Peter by the handsome

William Moseley. In fact,

the heart-throb factor

in this film really tipsthe scales. Barnes and

Moseley are not boys, but

strapping men, wield-

ing swords and fight-

ing for peace, and Anna

Popplewell has grown

into a stunning young

woman, fighting alongside

the men in the film with

incredible agility and

strength.

Unfortunately, the film

is not perfect. It relies

too heavily on the action

sequences, although theyare well done, and again

falls short in character

development. There are

scenes with fist fights

that go unexplained, lines

about the difficulty of the

real world that are never

substantiated in the plot,

and incredibly interest-

ing characters (Caspian

in particular) who have a

complex implied history,

but whose origins are left

largely unexplored.

In all though, the char-acter s are lovely. The

improved graphics are

also noticeable, with the

adorable and terrifying

creatures springing to life

with more reality than

ever before. While the

tame violence and sexual

material annoyed me (a

beheading with no blood?

A love connection with

nothing more than a peck

on the lips? Subduing a

knight with a bop on the

head?), it provides a greatfilm to see with the whole

family (with a PG rating)

and has reformed a for-

mer Narnia hater into an

excited fan.

katieBRAD

FORD

#####(out of 5 stars)

The Chronicles

of Narnia:

Prince Caspian

StarringBen Barnes and

Georgie Henley

JASON from page 4Even a kindergarten

kid could figure it out, I

was told.

The guy behind the

counter may as well have

handed me a Rubiks Cube

or a book of Chinese arith-

metic both would have

been easier to solve.

I wrestled with it for

about five minutes in thestore before I realized

everyone was watching.

So, as any sane man would

do, I pulled the fire alarm

and raced back to the car.

Once outside, my adven-

ture continued. I folded. I

bent. I twisted. I flipped.

And folded some more.

And each time I thought

I had figured out how to

make a box, I dropped my

head in shame. On the

upside, I had three peo-

ple applaud and hand me

cash. They thought I was a

busker. Origami Man was

my new name.

With the empties

returned, I headed home

again. They say theres no

place like home, but then

again, THEY did not have

to hang a clothesline, rake

the lawn, whipper snip the

tall grass or pick up a win-

ters worth of dog poop.Heres the quick recap

of those activities.

CLOTHESLINE: Great

thing to have in the coun-

try. Nothin g smells as

fresh as laundry dried on

a clothesline. And noth-

ing is as infuriating as

hanging a clothesline. My

tip for those attempting

this project keep the

bandages in your pocket.

Saves time.

See JASON on page 10