Sometimes I like to think back to what I was doing when a movie came out that prevented me from seeing it in the theater.  As for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), its May 16^th release date meant that I would have recently returned to Florida after the second year of my Ph.D. program at Loyola University Chicago.  At that time, I was without a car, so I am guessing that lack of transport would have been one factor.  The main factor, though, was that I did not care for its predecessor, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005).  As I explained in my review of that film, I did not understand my Faith as I do now.  As such, I now see this series in a different light.  As movies, I am still not mesmerized by them, even after watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, henceforth simply Prince Caspian.  Like the one before it, it is fine, but my main interest is in what it can teach us about Faith and being a better person.

It is difficult to see anyone with a commitment to being a better person at the beginning of Prince Caspian.  It has been roughly 1,300 years since Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley), Peter (William Moseley), and Susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell), the kings and queens of Narnia, left.  In the neighboring kingdom of Telmarine, a son is born to Prunaprismia (Alicia Borrachero) and her husband, Lord Miraz (Sergio Castellitto).  What should be a blessing from the heavens, as he calls it, is marred when he orders General Glozelle (Pierfranceso Favino) to murder the heir to the Telmarinian throne, Prince Caspian X (Ben Barnes).  Dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass), Prince Caspian’s teacher, hears of the treachery and warns the king-to-be.  Dr. Cornelius helps Prince Caspian escape, giving the young man the horn that once belonged to Queen Susan with an admonition to use it only when necessary.  Prince Caspian makes it all the way to Narnia before he has to sound the instrument to summon help before he is knocked out by Narnians.  With that, we are brought to our world a year after the Pevensie siblings had their adventure in the magical land beyond the wardrobe.  Do not try to figure out the time thing, by the way.  Just accept that things work differently.  At any rate, they are back in London where Susan is trying to avoid the awkward advances of a boy her age.  As she does so, Lucy summons her to a nearby tube station where Peter is fighting one of his classmates.  Arriving last on the scene is Edmund, who comes to his brother’s aid.  Before too long, the authorities break up the fisticuffs.  Gathering themselves, the Pevensies ruminate on why the professor (not pictured) from the last film has not asked them back to where they could re-enter Narnia.  As they are offering theories, the tube station transforms before their eyes, and they are soon standing on a beach that is presumably in Narnia.  As luck would have it, they are taken to the ruins of the castle from which they once ruled, which is their first indication that something is amiss.  Nonetheless, they are able to find their clothes and weapons.  Meanwhile, in Telmarine, General Glozelle reports failing to catch Prince Caspian, but he does bring back Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage), one of the dwarves of Narnia.  This is a problem because the Telmarines thought they had wiped out all the magical creatures next door.  Nonetheless, Lord Miraz orders Trumpkin to lead his men to Prince Caspian.  It is while they are going by boat down a stream that they are encountered by the Pevensie bunch, who rescue Trumpkin.  Trumpkin explains to them the things that have happened since their absence, and accompanies them as they try to find the rest of their scattered people.  At the same time, Prince Caspian sets out to get even with his uncle, promising peace with the Narnians if they help him.  Eventually, our two parties find one another as the Telmarine army is preparing another invasion of Narnia.  They begin gathering their forces at a place called Dancing Lawn, which is an ancient cave that has grown up around the High Table upon which Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) was sacrificed in the last film.  At this point, there is a split between Prince Caspian and Peter.  Prince Caspian favors defending Dancing Lawn while Peter, who wins out, wants to attack the Telmarine stronghold.  Though they come close to killing Lord Miraz, they are forced to retreat when Prunaprismia slightly wounds Prince Caspian with an arrow.  They end up retreating all the way back to Dancing Lawn, with Prince Caspian and Peter blaming each other for the loss of half their forces.  It is at this point that one of the other dwarves, Nikabrik (Warwick Davis), tempts Prince Caspian with an alternative.  Nikabrik produces the White Witch’s (Tilda Swinton) wand, saying that summoning her will solve their problems.  Prince Caspian almost goes through with the rite but is stopped by the Pevensies.  It is at this point that the Telmarine army arrives.  The plan is to send Lucy into the woods to enlist more help while the rest hold off the invaders.  To prevent further bloodshed, Peter challenges Lord Miraz, who made himself king after the previous attack, to single combat to the death.  Though Peter is triumphant, he does not kill King Miraz, nor does Prince Caspian.  Instead, Lord Sopespian (Damián Alcázar) murders King Miraz with a Narnian arrow and blames the death on the other side.  Thus, battle is commenced in earnest, which initially favors the Narnians until the greater numbers of the Temarinian forces make a difference.  This is when Lucy comes in handy.  During her trek, she encounters Aslan, who is able to summon the trees and the water to fight for Narnia.  Once the day is won, Prince Caspian is made King Caspian X, and it is time to say goodbye to the Pevensies.  Aslan also allows for Telmarines to come back to our world since they had come from there at some point in the past.  Finally, Peter and Susan announce that they will not be returning to Narnia again as their time is up.

While that might seem like a flimsy way of ending Prince Caspian, there is Biblical wisdom in knowing when a portion of one’s life has run its due course.  The Book of Ecclesiastes says it best in chapter three when it lists a number of different points in life when it is appropriate to tear down and build up, be happy and sad, kill and heal, etc.  Understanding where one ends and the next begins is wisdom according to the author of the book.  What is greater, though, is trusting in God throughout all of it.  In this way, Lucy is the star.  While Prince Caspian and Peter argue as to how they should fight Telmarine, she points out that there is a third way: waiting on Aslan.  She is ignored and the results are nearly disastrous.  It happens again with Prince Caspian and Peter when the former is tempted to summon the White Witch.  Because neither of them can see Aslan as Lucy does, they have no patience for somebody who may never help them.  We do this today.  Praying does not feel like it accomplishes anything, and simply being and knowing that God will provide for our needs appears foolish.  At worst, there are those who turn away from Faith, thinking they can do whatever they need on their own.  God shows us differently.  Since Aslan is depicted as a savior-like figure, the parallel that came to me while watching the climactic moments was Exodus.  Israel constantly blamed Moses for their problems, quickly forgetting the mighty deeds God did for them in Egypt and the dessert.  At many points, they are told that if they put their trust in the Lord, He will fight for them.  How does He do this?  By using the elements of nature as we see in the film.  We may never get to witness such miracles in our own lives, but Faith and Scripture show that they are possible.  I pray that they are enough to convince you to believe like Lucy.

Unfortunately, I am unconvinced as to whether I like Prince Caspian.  As before, it is fine in terms of its moral character.  I have questions about the plot, whose holes are not inconsiderable.  Finally, again, this kind of movie is just not my thing.  Therefore, I really do not have an opinion.