So last night, after a full weekend of whiskey, weddings and women, me and my buddy took a break and went and saw the newest Andrew Adamson film, Prince Caspian.
Here's my take on the movie.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Runtime: 174 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Directed by Andrew Adamson
First, watch the trailer to understand the time reference we are dealing with, then read my quick summary.
The Pevensie children, which we last saw in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, have been back in the real world for a year, when they are whisked away to Narnia. 1,300 years have passed in Narnia since they were kings and queens and the land has been taken over by a group of people called the Telmarines. The talking beasts and all the fantasy characters such as dwarves, minotaurs, centaurs etc. have been driven into the forests and are supposedly extinct. An evil ruler, Miraz, sits on the Telmarine throne. Enter Caspian, the true heir to the throne. He is forced to escape from his uncle, Miraz, when Miraz's wife finally gives birth to an heir. What follows is the recruitment of the Narnians to Caspian's cause and the battles that happen.
Now for those of you that saw LWW(Narnia 1), and thought it was childish and expected more of the same from the second, then you are mistaken. Prince Caspian is my third favorite fantasy movie, right behind Return of the King and Fellowship of the Ring. It is a much more mature movie than the last one.
Ben Barnes, who plays Caspian, does a great job in going from a naive prince, to a vengeful king. He said that he took his accent from Inigo Montoya(sp) from The Princess Bride and he does a really good job in making sure it's consistent throughout the movie.
The four actors who play the children have obviously matured, not only physically(since it's been three years since LWW) but also in their abilities as actors. If you thought some of the scenes in LWW seemed, well, bad or the swordplay was very basic, you were right. But expecting the same thing out of this film would be a mistake. The action scenes are great, the fight choreography has definitely improved, and the movie is overall darker.
William Moseley, who plays Peter, must have had so much fun making this film since he does a TON of horseback riding, sword fighting and a lot of facetime on screen. Anna Popplewell, who plays Susan, also got a lot of actions scenes, albeit, as an archer not a swordman. She also got hot these past three years and really pulls off the warrior queen very well. Yummy. All four of them have really improved their acting and most of the things you saw in LWW that you thought were bad are gone.
The person I was most impressed with though was Sergio Castellitto who plays Miraz. His facial expressions and the emotions he gives the cameras with just his eyes is awesome. His fight scene with Peter at the end is just plain out awesome. It doesn't take the fight into the realm of high-flying fights like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but they were awesome nonetheless.
Now the biggest complaint you will probably hear from the purists and hardcore Narnia fans is the amount of things Adamson added to the film, along with the timeline changes. Most of the timeline changes are small and helps the story stay interesting and flow better. The additions, on the other hand, completely change parts of the story, but I didn't have a problem with any of them, and I have read all the books. So if you saw the first one and haven't grown up with the books, it won't matter anyways.
When the movie says it is "Based upon the books by C.S. Lewis" it really means it since Adamson took a lot of creative liberty with the story. This is still a great fantasy adventure, though, and any fan that loves epic fantasy and drama really needs to see it.
BigPopa's rating: 9 out of 10 Hot Warrior/Archer/Queens.
I hated the first movie, but the one was awesome. Just like you said... Peter's fight with Miraz was filmed, choreographed and edited better than I could have imagined. Things definitely dont happen the same way a second time around.
Yeah, I love the books. The movie was good but they really did take some liberties with the story. That was not Prince Caspian. The screen writters didn't seem to even get what the book was about.
I saw the midnight showing extraordinarily disappointed and regretting not going to sleep instead as I had to get up the next morning.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the first film, I found this one to be plodding in terms of pace, with little to no real character development, except maybe via Peter but it was abrupt and unnatural. No fault to the actor, who did the best he could with the material he was given. Just a poor screenplay.
Speaking of abrupt, any scene that potential to become something epic and memorable ended so quickly that I found myself thinking about those scenes and wishing they were still going, rather than minding what was happening on screen.
The movie was choppy, poorly paced, and severely lacking in the sense of wondrous size and epic scope that it was aiming for. I would have preferred a little more childishness, as it was that aspect that gave the first film the innocence to make the fantastical nature of it truly stand out. They are supposed to be children, and the film tried to make the characters grow up at the very beginning, rather than letting them do it on their own through.
I actually just got back from the movie, and I feel kind of conflicted. I liked a lot of the action and the more mature tone and all, but then mechamonkey is correct about the pacing and all. And everything just seemed to end, poof, just like that. And besides that, as someone who never read the books, this shit was really predictable. Still, can't wait to see another one. Just hope ticket sales pick up, cause the first one did a lot better it's first weekend out.
Ok so i really liked the movie but one thing i found myself wondering was if the kids were the only humans in narnia and the other people came from them then
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Some say BigPopa was not born, but put together using the body parts of the greatest pimps ever to be born. Like some kind of freak zombie, sent here to roam the world. To play video games, terrorize women, and consume the largest amount of whiskey as is humanly possible.
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I hated the first movie, but the one was awesome. Just like you said... Peter's fight with Miraz was filmed, choreographed and edited better than I could have imagined. Things definitely dont happen the same way a second time around.
Excellent, I can't wait to see this one.
Hmm.. I was not going to see this one because I hated the first one so much. But BPG, you sir have made me reconsider.
Also, see you in less than 2 weeks!
You know it Coon. Looking forward to getting drunk in Cinci.
I don't have shit to say about Narnia 2, but every time I look at your sidebar, I leave a little happier.
And I watched that Frustration .gif dozens of times.
Yeah, I love the books. The movie was good but they really did take some liberties with the story. That was not Prince Caspian. The screen writters didn't seem to even get what the book was about.
Never read prince caspian, and didnt particularly like the first narnia film. However, this has made me consider going to view it.
@Orcist
BPG definitely wins the Best Sidebar award at the annual Destructoid Awards
yeah this has made me consider seeing this now as i hated the first one
His sidebar kicks my sidebar's ass.
i keep thinking one time maybe she'll slip but she never does!!! DAMN THAT GIF!! also nice review heh
I thought the first one was ok, if a bit childish. I really liked this one, can't wait to see it in HD. C.S. Lewis' god is kind of violent too.
I wont comment on the movie, as I havent seen it yet, but...
"Prince Caspian is my third favorite fantasy movie, right behind Return of the King and Fellowship of the Ring."
Seriously dude...wtf. You need to expand your horizons if Lord of the Rings are your favorite fantasy movies. Elves and wizards are soooooooo boring.
Really?
I saw the midnight showing extraordinarily disappointed and regretting not going to sleep instead as I had to get up the next morning.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the first film, I found this one to be plodding in terms of pace, with little to no real character development, except maybe via Peter but it was abrupt and unnatural. No fault to the actor, who did the best he could with the material he was given. Just a poor screenplay.
Speaking of abrupt, any scene that potential to become something epic and memorable ended so quickly that I found myself thinking about those scenes and wishing they were still going, rather than minding what was happening on screen.
The movie was choppy, poorly paced, and severely lacking in the sense of wondrous size and epic scope that it was aiming for. I would have preferred a little more childishness, as it was that aspect that gave the first film the innocence to make the fantastical nature of it truly stand out. They are supposed to be children, and the film tried to make the characters grow up at the very beginning, rather than letting them do it on their own through.
I actually just got back from the movie, and I feel kind of conflicted. I liked a lot of the action and the more mature tone and all, but then mechamonkey is correct about the pacing and all. And everything just seemed to end, poof, just like that. And besides that, as someone who never read the books, this shit was really predictable. Still, can't wait to see another one. Just hope ticket sales pick up, cause the first one did a lot better it's first weekend out.
THAT GIF IS INFURIATING ME.
I do plan to see this, I just haven't gotten to it yet.
JUST A NIPPLE FOR FUCK SAKE AJSDKLFANSDFAS
Ok so i really liked the movie but one thing i found myself wondering was if the kids were the only humans in narnia and the other people came from them then
some incest was going on! HELLS YEAH!!!!!! =X lol