Thoughts on Prince Caspian
The most positive thing I can say is the CGI was superb. The creatures were seamlessly integrated into the story, something that was not perfectly accomplished in the first movie. The vistas and spanning shots were also beautifully done, well worth seeing on the big screen.
Now to the story. I must first say I did not read the books so I can't compare the movie with those things. The movie felt every bit of it's 2 1/2 hour length. There were a few great character moments, particularly for Edmund who very much redeemed himself with his actions here (and a rather notable performance by the actor as well). The inevitable meet-cute moments between Lucy and Caspian started off well enough but felt more and more schmoopy the longer the movie went on. It culminated with the a cringe-worthy ending scene overlayed by a badly chosen musical piece (completely took me out of the movie). Caspian also never really felt like fully part of the story for some reason.
That said, there were some interesting themes in the story, from the evils of unchecked colonizing forces, to the toxicity of vengeance, to humans vs. nature (on this corner for Nature we have more action oriented ents as well as another version of the LotR raging waters montage). However, these themes seemed a bit muted by the constant and oh-so-familiar battle scenes.
Now, you'd think I didn't like the movie but I kinda did. At least I was entertained if not completely won over. I also just wish we'd had a bit less battle and a bit more character moments.
On a completely unrelated note, I find it amusing which first two graphics IMDB chose for their TV fall pick-up news page.
Now to the story. I must first say I did not read the books so I can't compare the movie with those things. The movie felt every bit of it's 2 1/2 hour length. There were a few great character moments, particularly for Edmund who very much redeemed himself with his actions here (and a rather notable performance by the actor as well). The inevitable meet-cute moments between Lucy and Caspian started off well enough but felt more and more schmoopy the longer the movie went on. It culminated with the a cringe-worthy ending scene overlayed by a badly chosen musical piece (completely took me out of the movie). Caspian also never really felt like fully part of the story for some reason.
That said, there were some interesting themes in the story, from the evils of unchecked colonizing forces, to the toxicity of vengeance, to humans vs. nature (on this corner for Nature we have more action oriented ents as well as another version of the LotR raging waters montage). However, these themes seemed a bit muted by the constant and oh-so-familiar battle scenes.
Now, you'd think I didn't like the movie but I kinda did. At least I was entertained if not completely won over. I also just wish we'd had a bit less battle and a bit more character moments.
On a completely unrelated note, I find it amusing which first two graphics IMDB chose for their TV fall pick-up news page.