The latest installment of the Chronicles of Narnia is not nearly as
good as the last. As with the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
there is more to this movie than there was in the book but, whereas
that was to the good then, it isn't so this time.
Peter, who was the most mature of the children in the last movie, has become a rash, belligerent, petulant teen. I recall that there was some tension between Caspian and Peter in the book, but here they come to blows. Edmund, who was traitorous in the last film, is now the sensible one. Susan has a subplot involving her interest in boys, lying about her name to a geeky boy in England but then showing a crush on Prince Caspian in Narnia. This proves mostly distracting and pointless. Lucy (Georgie Henley) once again steals the show among the children, being the most attuned to Aslan (Liam Neeson) and the most steadfast.
Miraz, brother to the deceased King Caspian IX, is the regent. So, one expects Prince Caspian (the 26 year-old Ben Barnes) to be a minor, which he clearly isn't. When exactly is he expected to take the throne? In the novel, Caspian was probably 12 or so. I don't recall the Telmarines being Spanish but the influence of Spain on the movie's version of Telmarine culture cannot be overstated. After defeating the Spanish Armada last year in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, filmmakers wanted a repeat performance here.
The effects are so-so and oddly repetitious of Lord of the Rings. We have trees marching to battle, a river coming to life to sweep away the enemy, the ground collapsing to swallow the enemy, huge rocks pummeling our heroes' stronghold, and so on.
I was surprised to see the return, however brief, of the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Reepicheep the Mouse (Eddie Izzard) makes his first appearance and provides for some comic relief. His combat prowess was probably easier to accept in the book than on screen. It is hard to accept even an oversized mouse (think a big rat) could dispatch so many humans with his tiny sword.
All in all, this read better as a children's story than it translates to the screen. It is one thing to be killing monsters (as happened in the last book) and another to be killing people in a movie largely targeted at kids. I suppose the metal faceplates were to dehumanize the Telmarine enemy. The pacing is inconsistent, leading to many lulls where we are again reminded how unappealing most of the characters are.
Peter, who was the most mature of the children in the last movie, has become a rash, belligerent, petulant teen. I recall that there was some tension between Caspian and Peter in the book, but here they come to blows. Edmund, who was traitorous in the last film, is now the sensible one. Susan has a subplot involving her interest in boys, lying about her name to a geeky boy in England but then showing a crush on Prince Caspian in Narnia. This proves mostly distracting and pointless. Lucy (Georgie Henley) once again steals the show among the children, being the most attuned to Aslan (Liam Neeson) and the most steadfast.
Miraz, brother to the deceased King Caspian IX, is the regent. So, one expects Prince Caspian (the 26 year-old Ben Barnes) to be a minor, which he clearly isn't. When exactly is he expected to take the throne? In the novel, Caspian was probably 12 or so. I don't recall the Telmarines being Spanish but the influence of Spain on the movie's version of Telmarine culture cannot be overstated. After defeating the Spanish Armada last year in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, filmmakers wanted a repeat performance here.
The effects are so-so and oddly repetitious of Lord of the Rings. We have trees marching to battle, a river coming to life to sweep away the enemy, the ground collapsing to swallow the enemy, huge rocks pummeling our heroes' stronghold, and so on.
I was surprised to see the return, however brief, of the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Reepicheep the Mouse (Eddie Izzard) makes his first appearance and provides for some comic relief. His combat prowess was probably easier to accept in the book than on screen. It is hard to accept even an oversized mouse (think a big rat) could dispatch so many humans with his tiny sword.
All in all, this read better as a children's story than it translates to the screen. It is one thing to be killing monsters (as happened in the last book) and another to be killing people in a movie largely targeted at kids. I suppose the metal faceplates were to dehumanize the Telmarine enemy. The pacing is inconsistent, leading to many lulls where we are again reminded how unappealing most of the characters are.
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