Commentary - Aaron Keith Harris: Adventures worth their admission this summer — and one to avoid

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Iron Man” was a pretty good kickoff to the summer movie blockbuster season. Robert Downey Jr., who’s always worth the price of admission, struck just the right note of arrogant charm to complement the flashy effects.

I expect “The Dark Knight” — the sequel to “Batman Begins” starring Christian Bale and the late, great Heath Ledger — to be even better.

Until “The Dark Knight” opens nationwide July 18, moviegoers can choose from two other huge fantasy/adventure films. Both are sequels, and each, in its own way, relies heavily on nostalgia. But only one is worth your $10 or $12.

First, the bad news. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is so bad that only a duo like director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas could have made it. With anyone else at the helm, you’d think someone would have had the guts to inquire as to the whereabouts of the trademark intricate plot, whip-smart dialog and eye-popping stunts marking the rest of the Indiana Jones franchise.

Instead, we’re given a script in which the characters — especially the greaser proto-Indy played by Shia LaBeouf — tell us, rather than show us, the story and an aliens-were-the-architects-of-ancient-civilization plot lifted straight from “The X-Files.”

But at least the action sequences are great, right? Wrong. Portions of the big chase through the jungle look as if they were filmed in front of a weatherman’s green screen at a local TV station.

Harrison Ford is as good as he can be with such poor material, and fine performances from a trio of British actors — John Hurt, Ray Winstone and the magnificent Cate Blanchett — help make the film watchable.

It’s possible that kids might like this version of Indy, but we grown-ups need a bit more than the whip, the hat and a John Williams trumpet fanfare to bring back the excitement of two decades ago.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” on the other hand, is aimed at children, but can be appreciated on a much deeper level by adults. And on every level, it tops “Crystal Skull.”

The battle scenes — featuring dwarves, centaurs, minotaurs, griffins and more — are wonderfully choreographed and genuinely dramatic. And the story, which sticks close to the C.S. Lewis novella, is a simple, yet gripping, illustration of the merits of faith.

Siblings Peter, Susan, Edward and Lucy, who helped save Narnia from the White Witch in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” are back in Narnia to help Prince Caspian retake the throne from his evil uncle.

Only this time, Aslan, the magical lion who brought them victory before, is nowhere to be found.

As perhaps the greatest Christian writer since Thomas Aquinas, Lewis clearly uses “Prince Caspian” as an allegory for the Christian Church post-resurrection.

The children know the Christ figure Aslan could step in at any moment to make everything OK. But why doesn’t he? And if he doesn’t care enough to get involved, why should I?

Those are valid questions believers struggle with every day, and the characters in “Prince Caspian” work through them realistically and touchingly.

In one scene, the oldest, Peter, asks the youngest, Lucy, why Aslan won’t prove himself to them again. Lucy’s answer is the correct one:

“Maybe we’re the ones who have to prove ourselves to him.”

Aaron Keith Harris writes about politics, the media, pop culture and music, and is a regular contributor to National Review Online and Bluegrass Unlimited. He can be reached at aaronkeithharris@gmail.com.

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