Movie Review: Prince Caspian
May 17th, 2008
by HT
Anticipation is what killed the last Narnia movie for me. I prepared myself for its much hailed arrival by reading the books for the first time and even by going back to the original British version and watching what were some of my favorite movies as a child. When all was said and done I was left disappointed. Sure they didn’t destroy the books or anything they just got me to expect one thing and gave me something entirely different. I have since seen The ‘Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’ a few times more and I have a few better things to say about it, however, it still not the masterpiece that I was hoping for. I have just returned from ‘Prince Caspian’ and it is without a doubt a better movie than the first in almost every way.
Andrew Adamson seems to be coming into his own when it comes to directing live action movies. One thing that worried me early on when I learned of his direction is that his only other movies were Shrek and Shrek 2 and that didn’t seem to be the resume I would have liked coming into one of the most beloved fantasy franchises of all time, however, it looks like he’s learning from his mistakes and improving. He seems to have a much better vision for what’s going on and is getting much more out of his actors.
As for the acting, the children have improved quite a bit. One thing I have always had a hard time with when watching children’s movies is how horrible children are at it. With one movie and a few years under their belt they’re starting to grow up and act like their characters. Peter is more believable, Susan is less annoying, Edmond is growing up, and Lucy…well Lucy is no longer the joyful innocent girl she was in the first movie, however, after all they’ve been through in Narnia - she shouldn’t be.
The music was brilliant as I would expect from Harry Gregson-Williams who did a fantastic job the first time around and once again WETA Digital did a great job with the special effects. That coupled with some well done cinematography and editing has led to a much better flowing picture. The battle scenes feel like battles and the sweeping landscapes are used correctly in a much more “epic” (if I dare use the word) fashion than in the first. Sure there wasn’t a lot to the story which boiled down to save Narnia once again, but there were times when you felt like they might not win, and that is what a film of this type needs. If there is no sense of urgency and no sense of the possibility of failure then there is no point to watch it.
All in all the movie was an enjoyable couple of hours and worth seeing on the big screen. If you liked the first one you’ll most definitely like this one, but even if you didn’t, I would give it a try anyway.
4/5 stars
[edit] I decided to rethink my rating system. While on one end this is less exact and does not distinguish between movies quite as well I think it will do a better job indicating the range of quality that a movie falls into. With 5-Great; 4-Good; 3-Average; 2-Bad; 1-Horrible; 0-Putrid.
Hmm.. interesting assessment. I actually just got back from watching the movie and perhaps I can add some of my own thoughts.
I thought that this was by far the better of the two in production quality, acting, realism, etc, but what it was lacking was… a story. Things just didn’t seem to mesh well and the ‘beginning’ of the movie didn’t seem to end until about 50 minutes through it. Granted, I know there’s a lot of loose ends to tie up in a sequel, but it was unbearably slow in the beginning (I actually nodded off!). It also seemed incredibly dark, with the first half seemingly entirely at night. Some of the scenes weren’t exactly little-kid-friendly either.
I laughed at your line “once again WETA Digital did a great job with the special effects”. Sure, WETA is known for their awesomeness, but iirc, both you and I blasted LW&W for the terrible effects (or at least inconsistency, like the panoramic vista shot that would have looked better if they’d left the green screen as the background).
This one was light years better in that respect and the fight scenes actually reminded me of 300. Which brings up my next point- I kept picturing the setting for this movie as being Gondor, years after Aragorn’s demise (as alluded to in Elrond’s vision). Some of the scenery was similar to Gondor/Edoras (Filmed in New Zealand… imagine that). On top of that, the whole plot reminded me of Helm’s Deep + Minas Tirith + Moria (compare “This is no mine, its a tomb” to a line said by either Edmund or Caspian).
That being said, this movie felt… familiar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. So while I think it wasn’t quite a 9 imo, its a solid 7, perhaps an 8, but well worth the watch.
Look who’s the sensationalist now
Dan’s last blog post..When you?ve run out of music?
I agree with your assessments for the most part. (surprise surprise). Let me see if I can explain myself further when it comes to them however.
I can’t fault the movie for the story being slow because from everything I’ve heard Prince Caspian is considered the lesser of the Narnia books. The story itself does feel “familiar” and that’s just because both Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia have been copied more times than we could shake a stick at.
My comment about WETA should perhaps have been explained differently. I meant they consistently do a good job, and wasn’t comparing their work on the last one with this one so much as I was saying, once again WETA did well. (If that makes sense)
While the beginning was darker and slower that didn’t bother me, so I guess its just a taste thing really, but I would agree that its one step less family friendly than the first, and one step better for it in some ways.
As for my sensationalism, you won’t read anywhere that I said it was a great movie, the best ever, the best movie of the year, or the best movie in a long time. Perhaps 9/10 is wrong, but for once I was grading it on what it was. It was a 9/10 for a family fantasy movie. I’m surprised you only give it a 7 or an 8 when you said it was better than the first and you hailed the first when it came out, but I digress.
HT’s last blog post..Movie Review: Prince Caspian
In my defense, I was a different person back then.
Dan’s last blog post..When you?ve run out of music?
Isn’t the story -supposed- to have a darker tone to it? Narnia had fallen into a dark time for hundreds of years! Most of the Narnians had given up hope, and I thought that was portrayed very well in the movie.
ZePuKa’s last blog post..Time to get busy!
All I have to go on is a ship floating in a picture from the old BBC version so I will let you know what I think when our family actually slows down enough so we can see it…That very well may be when it comes out on video..lol
Unfortunately your memory isn’t even of Prince Caspian, but of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is in fact a far superior story and my favorite of the novels.
Hopefully Caspian will make enough money that they’ll make that one because I’d be sorely disappointed if we miss out on the best one because the worst one happens to fall in front of it. Although I guess that’s what happen when you have your opening two weeks after the critically acclaimed Iron Man, and one week before Indiana Jones IV.
HT’s last blog post..Movie Review: Prince Caspian
Caspian Cosplay?
http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?p=2432235
Dan’s last blog post..When you?ve run out of music?
but isn’t Caspian in Dawn Treader..if my memory serves me..and at this point in my life it probably doesn’t right!
Why yes he is a character in that book. The issue really is that the BBC version combined the two books which is why you placed them together in your mind. There is however a break even in the BBC version where the children come home to England and then travel through the painting back in Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
In the books a year takes place between them, and in the new movies we no longer have to put up with the hideous version of Lucy from the British edition.
HT’s last blog post..Movie Review: Prince Caspian
Well all of that said it is no wonder I confused them not to mention it has been 14 years since I saw them..oh how time flies and oh how old I feel. That would place me in the 7th grade!
Ah yes… if nothing else, these new ones are better than the BBC ones… I recall those being boring and quite the eyesore… wow, has it really been so long since they came out?
ZePuKa’s last blog post..Just a Quick Note?
the makers of Prince Caspian kept to the original story better than i would have expected… i had heard they were going to make it into a silly pure-action flick, but thankfully this was not so much the case
patrick’s last blog post..The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.