I had such high hopes after the release of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" -- it was so beautifully done and true to the book. On the other hand, "Prince Caspian" the story is frequently unrecognizable in this film, and sometimes even laughable. It starts promisingly enough with professor Cornelius abruptly waking Caspian and putting him to flight. But as the minutes pass, any keen-eyed Narnia fan begins to see C.S. Lewis' quite capable story dissolve.
It seems strange to post a *SPOILER ALERT* for a movie based on a book, but if you are interested in seeing it and wish to be surprised by its ineptitude, by all means stop reading now (though I'll try not to give away the farm).
• Aslan barely makes an appearance 'til the end.
• The High King Peter is reduced to an angsty, insecure teenage boy always looking for a fight.
• Peter and Caspian are caught up in a fierce and jealous rivalry.
• There are two (very) long battle sequences, which not only aren't in the book, but only serve to take up time.
• There is no atmospheric "feel" of a magical world.
• In favor of an invented all-out war near the end, they left out any lovely imagery of the girls riding with Aslan to reawaken Narnia.
• Much of Lewis' sharp banter has been replaced by George Lucas-esque dialogue.
• Caspian and Susan kiss.
Yes, I left the real zinger for last. Let's just say if I were Douglas Gresham (Lewis' adopted son), I'd want my name removed from the credits as producer. The very barest bones of the story are intact -- Caspian is the true king of Telemarine descent who must rally old Narnians in hiding to his cause. But with all the added teenage drama, manufactured conflict and a script I could have written in 7th grade, how worthwhile is what remains of the story?
Do yourself a favor and read the original, beautiful tale by one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century. These books have millions of fans all over the world for a reason: They're good. And unlike "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, they are short and concise enough to be left pretty much alone (as was "LWW"). The authentic story of "Prince Caspian" is about faith, courage and breathing new life into a land that had all but lost its magic. I'm not going to let filmmakers reduce it to a dumbed-down Disney channel special about getting over jealousy and learning to work together. Blah. That's what "High School Musical" is for.
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3 comments:
HA! So you're saying my choice to see Baby Mama instead was a good one!
Excellent review. You hit the nail on the head. As Polly would say in THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW, "It's absolute bosh."
Dad Friday.
Nice one, Dad Friday.
Did you like Baby Mana, Serinekat? It's gotten pretty good reviews.
What I like about what you said, LEL, was, it was laughable. I was incredulous throughout. It was almost a stupid movie.
Imagine--a CS Lewis novel being reduced to something stupid. It's a crying shame people. Time to protest!
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