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silverthunder) wrote2008-05-23 09:26 am
silverthunder) wrote2008-05-23 09:26 am
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So, I saw Prince Caspian last night.
...
......
Well, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. The first movie, 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe', was really good. It followed the original story - which I liked very much - quite closely, while having its own spark to it. I'm not sure why, but apparently the producers decided that they had such succcess with following that plan, they never needed to follow it again and could do the opposite with the next movie.
The logic escapes me, but anyway...
I can see why they made some changes. This is a movie, and that was a book. A movie needs to move quickly through the action and keep viewers engaged. A book can have a slower pace. However, some changes were just completely nonsensical and I didn't care for them. And it didn't get off to a very good start - I could follow it fine since I was familiar with the story, but Cody was completely lost after the first five or ten minutes. I had to explain to him what was happening. Not a good start at all.
From here, I'm going to split the changes that actually caught my attention into categories: changes I liked and changes I didn't like.
Changes I didn't like:
1. The tension between Peter and Caspian. TOTALLY not necessary. And it gave me a bad feeling. I didn't even think it was done that well. Maybe they felt that because they couldn't have the tension between Peter and Edmund any more, they needed to have tension between Peter and someone else. Hooray...
2. The entire 'attacking the castle' section. Redundant. Boring. Adds nothing to the story but extra time. The only things I liked in it were the parts with either Trumpkin, Edmund, or Reepacheep. And those were few and far between.
3. Additional and unnecessary scenes where Miraz talks to his counsil/staff/whatever about stuff we already know and don't care about.
4. Caspian and Peter both being tempted by the White Witch during the scene with the hag. Tards.
5. The fact that Caspian met the Pevensies before the scene with the hag. I didn't see anything good come from this early association. Especially since Peter and Caspian start out fighting each other. Yeesh.
6. Peter giving Caspian the sword to deliver the finishing blow to his uncle after the duel. Why didn't Caspian just fight the duel in the first place? In the book he was injured. Here, who the hell knows? It didn't make much sense.
7. Caspian/Susan romance. AGH!!!
Changes I liked:
1. Edmund stabbing the witch through the ice from behind and then giving well-deserved attitude afterwards. I would've liked more focus on that.
2. Susan participating in the fights. CS Lewis is turning in his grave, but I think it was pretty neat.
3. Lucy stepping onto the bridge in front of the army. Go Lucy! Menace them with that little dagger!
4. Aslan not showing up until the end. It made things more dramatic.
5. Reepacheep's introduction. Loved it. Reepacheep is great.
6. Caspian was older. That was sorta cool.
Truthfully, I got kind of annoyed with Peter, Susan, and Caspian in general. I liked Edmund, Lucy, Trumpkin, and Reepacheep. Three out of the second four will show up in the next movie (assuming they make it), and two out of the first three will not. I'll be going to see the next movie for sure. Plus I liked 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' better than 'Prince Caspian' anyway. Originally I was kind of sad that Peter and Susan weren't there any more, but after watching them in this movie, I don't care about that as much now.
All in all, I guess I can still say I enjoyed this. It wasn't as good as the first one, but it was all right. The music was good and the visuals were cool. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy it, but meh. Whatever. I have a while to figure that out.
I think mostly what I got from this movie is the fact that I'm looking forward to the next one.
In other news, I bought a box set of Fruits Basket, and I'm in the process of rewatching it. I love that series. I love it even more now that I've read the end of the manga. Hehe.
I also have my box set of Escaflowne and have been watching that. Now that is a good series! I think the fact that it lost 13 episodes and had to squeeze the story into the rest worked in its favor. Each episode moves so quickly! I love it.
I also watched the first episode of Tactics. I'm not sure if I like it yet. I'll have to give it a couple more episodes and see.
Also, Cody and I bought a new sound system. We're working on trying to get it set up. Apparently we need to buy an additional cable. Hopefully we can get it working tonight after work.
...
......
Well, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. The first movie, 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe', was really good. It followed the original story - which I liked very much - quite closely, while having its own spark to it. I'm not sure why, but apparently the producers decided that they had such succcess with following that plan, they never needed to follow it again and could do the opposite with the next movie.
The logic escapes me, but anyway...
I can see why they made some changes. This is a movie, and that was a book. A movie needs to move quickly through the action and keep viewers engaged. A book can have a slower pace. However, some changes were just completely nonsensical and I didn't care for them. And it didn't get off to a very good start - I could follow it fine since I was familiar with the story, but Cody was completely lost after the first five or ten minutes. I had to explain to him what was happening. Not a good start at all.
From here, I'm going to split the changes that actually caught my attention into categories: changes I liked and changes I didn't like.
Changes I didn't like:
1. The tension between Peter and Caspian. TOTALLY not necessary. And it gave me a bad feeling. I didn't even think it was done that well. Maybe they felt that because they couldn't have the tension between Peter and Edmund any more, they needed to have tension between Peter and someone else. Hooray...
2. The entire 'attacking the castle' section. Redundant. Boring. Adds nothing to the story but extra time. The only things I liked in it were the parts with either Trumpkin, Edmund, or Reepacheep. And those were few and far between.
3. Additional and unnecessary scenes where Miraz talks to his counsil/staff/whatever about stuff we already know and don't care about.
4. Caspian and Peter both being tempted by the White Witch during the scene with the hag. Tards.
5. The fact that Caspian met the Pevensies before the scene with the hag. I didn't see anything good come from this early association. Especially since Peter and Caspian start out fighting each other. Yeesh.
6. Peter giving Caspian the sword to deliver the finishing blow to his uncle after the duel. Why didn't Caspian just fight the duel in the first place? In the book he was injured. Here, who the hell knows? It didn't make much sense.
7. Caspian/Susan romance. AGH!!!
Changes I liked:
1. Edmund stabbing the witch through the ice from behind and then giving well-deserved attitude afterwards. I would've liked more focus on that.
2. Susan participating in the fights. CS Lewis is turning in his grave, but I think it was pretty neat.
3. Lucy stepping onto the bridge in front of the army. Go Lucy! Menace them with that little dagger!
4. Aslan not showing up until the end. It made things more dramatic.
5. Reepacheep's introduction. Loved it. Reepacheep is great.
6. Caspian was older. That was sorta cool.
Truthfully, I got kind of annoyed with Peter, Susan, and Caspian in general. I liked Edmund, Lucy, Trumpkin, and Reepacheep. Three out of the second four will show up in the next movie (assuming they make it), and two out of the first three will not. I'll be going to see the next movie for sure. Plus I liked 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' better than 'Prince Caspian' anyway. Originally I was kind of sad that Peter and Susan weren't there any more, but after watching them in this movie, I don't care about that as much now.
All in all, I guess I can still say I enjoyed this. It wasn't as good as the first one, but it was all right. The music was good and the visuals were cool. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy it, but meh. Whatever. I have a while to figure that out.
I think mostly what I got from this movie is the fact that I'm looking forward to the next one.
In other news, I bought a box set of Fruits Basket, and I'm in the process of rewatching it. I love that series. I love it even more now that I've read the end of the manga. Hehe.
I also have my box set of Escaflowne and have been watching that. Now that is a good series! I think the fact that it lost 13 episodes and had to squeeze the story into the rest worked in its favor. Each episode moves so quickly! I love it.
I also watched the first episode of Tactics. I'm not sure if I like it yet. I'll have to give it a couple more episodes and see.
Also, Cody and I bought a new sound system. We're working on trying to get it set up. Apparently we need to buy an additional cable. Hopefully we can get it working tonight after work.
no subject
...Caspian/Susan!? O:<
(I have yet to see the movie; it opens in Sweden in July. I'm a bit afraid to see it since it is my favourite book in the series.)
no subject
Caspian/Susan was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. It was so... thrown in. Like "hey, we don't have any romance in this story. Well, how about Caspian and Susan - they'd make a good teenaged couple to keep the preteens watching." Argh. It makes me very angry just thinking about it. I *hate* that sort of thing. It is just so tacky!
I dunno if I'd recommend it or not. You'll probably go see it either way if you're a fan of the books, but be prepared, because while the basic storyline is the same, there are a LOT of changes.
no subject
You sound like you haven't watched the end of the anime series for Escaflowne. ^^; Actually, I was probably about 17 when I borrowed the sub from a Japanese language class classmate and thus, wasn't up on gossip. But the losing 13 episodes? Completely makes sense in retrospect. And no, it was not a good thing.
Meh. But that's just my opinion. Once you've seen it, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.
As for the Narnia franchise, I'm waiting around for The Silver Chair. That one was always my favorite of the books.
no subject
I've heard that the ending of Escaflowne is really rushed. Well, I'll probably post my opinion anyway when I've finished the series. I remember watching the very last episode when it aired on TV in English and not understanding anything at all.