Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian

[I_Like_Swordchucks]

So the reviews are a'ight, generally agreeing its better than the first.

Apparently Reepicheep is quite amazing looking, and awesome as all hell.

Anybody planning on going to see it?

[Demetrius]

I would like to, but work disagrees. :(

[Masked Jedi]

I'm probably gonna wait till DVD. I want to go see Speed Racer again, and I don't like Walden Media, so yeah.

[DFM]

My friend wants to see it so I'll go with them since they can't find anybody else to go and it'll probably be enjoyable.

[Lord of Joshelplex]

It looks interesting, but I never saw the first, casue it looked lame. Is the first one really neccesary to understand this one?

[Blues]

I didn't care for the first one because it seemed like they completely ignored the feel of the book and just made Lord of the Rings: 5th Grade Edition. I probably won't see this one in theater.

I'll see the third one, though. There's too many things in that book I'd love to see portrayed with more technical skill than a 1980's BBC studio can manage.

[Bells]

the only good thing to came out of the first one was Lazy Sunday... but the second one looks a lot better actually. I might watch it... it's a good movie season with Indiana 4 coming soon too

[Regulus Tera]

I just came from watching this after being dragged by my sister (I was planning on Iron-Man, but oh well). Having never read the books or even watched the previous movie, I felt it was an okay film, even if not subtle at all (God Aslan's ire will drown you all!!) and veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery slow. The book better be Goblet of Fire long to justify for the pacing.

But it was fine. I liked the acting and the minotaurs looked bitching. Though the fact that the Telmarines gave me a Spanish vibe while the good guys were all apparently English makes me concerned.

[RickZarber]

Just got back from a screening. I thought it was fairly good. It deviated pretty far from its source material, but then again Prince Caspian is one of the least eventful Narnia books. Turning it into a war movie wasn't that bad of an idea. That said, it was pretty hardcore for a PG movie. Despite the battles being bloodless (save for a few key blows), I was rather surprised it didn't garner a PG-13. There was even a decapitation (off screen, but still)!The book better be Goblet of Fire long to justify for the pacing.Which is pretty funny, considering the book is only about 200 pages long. I'd guess about half the running time was stuff they made up for the movie.Though the fact that the Telmarines gave me a Spanish vibe while the good guys were all apparently English makes me concerned.You think that's bad, just wait until The Horse and His Boy!

All in all I liked it well enough. Only false note was that the song that started playing right before the end credits really threw me off. Everyone I was sitting near was all, "What the hell?" Other than that it was fairly entertaining.

I can't wait for Voyage of the Dawn Treader, my favorite Narnia installment. I really hope they do that one justice. There're enough adventures in that book at any rate that they won't need to make stuff up (though doubtless they will).

[Regulus Tera]

Good gracious Rick you're right:

The filmmakers interpreted the Telmarines, including Caspian, as being Spanish because of their pirate origins, which producer Mark Johnson noted made Caspian "a contrast to the lily-white [Pevensies]". Production designer Roger Ford originally wanted the Telmarines to be French, as they had a confrontational history with the English, who are represented by the Pevensies. This was scrapped as the crew were unable to shoot at Pierre Fonds Castle, for Miraz's lair, so they went for the Spanish feel.

Fuck you Disney! Fuck you and your racist anglo-saxon jingoistic propaganda!!

Worst. Movie. Ever.

[RickZarber]

Fuck you Disney! Fuck you and your racist anglo-saxon jingoistic propaganda!!

Worst. Movie. Ever.I'm not sure whether you're being facetious here or not, but to be fair, in the book Dr Cornelius actually calls Reepicheep "Signior Mouse", and the Telmarines are described as "dark and hard-looking men", so there's definitely precedent that the Telmarines should be of some non-Anglo ethnicity. I doubt because they picked Spanish it has any underlying or cultural allegory. Whether or not it could be interpreted as such is of course another matter entirely.

I actually just finished re-reading the book and was surprised to find that the movie was much truer to it than I had remembered. Many of the things they "made up" for the movie were influenced by the book (including the trees attacking and the river-god, both of which I'd completely forgotten about and had me thinking LotR rip-off in the theater), and some things like attacking Miraz's castle were discussed if not executed. And the movie handled many scenes with far more nuance and subtlety than the novel (such as the Lords' betrayal of Miraz at the end). And I think the only part without precedent in the book actually made the story better; I'm speaking of Peter and Susan's character struggles. (For example, in the book Peter tells Caspian directly upon their meeting that he's there to see Caspian to the throne and not to take it back for himself.)

If the first movie was much more of a Christian allegory, I found the movie of Prince Caspian to be more about the struggle with faith that comes with leaving childhood. Some of that was less subtle, but it still made the experience better for me--or better than two and a half hours of CG battles alone. That said, the duel between Peter and Miraz is perhaps one of the greatest cinematic medieval sword fights I've seen in a long time. So yeah, the more I think about it, the more I find I liked the film.

[Regulus Tera]

I'm not sure whether you're being facetious here or not, but to be fair, in the book Dr Cornelius actually calls Reepicheep "Signior Mouse", and the Telmarines are described as "dark and hard-looking men", so there's definitely precedent that the Telmarines should be of some non-Anglo ethnicity. I doubt because they picked Spanish it has any underlying or cultural allegory. Whether or not it could be interpreted as such is of course another matter entirely.

Define "facetious".

The heir to the Telmarine (read Spanish) throne was English. That doesn't make any sense! Plus there's the whole last scene with Aslan telling the Spanish backstabbing guy that beyond lies a land (England) where you can rectify yourself and start again or something like that. I don't want to sin of political correctness, but the elements are there.

To be fair, it could also be Italian, seeing signior is probably derived from signore and not señor.

Edit: Miraz strikes me as a Moor sounding name, so the inspiration is definitely Spanish. Let's just leave the whole issue at "Mediterranean".

[Invisible Queen]

Judging by the trailer I've seen, it's exactly like the first movie. How come everything has to be about a big-ass epic battle? I don't recall there being any battles in the book except the last one. It's like they made over what they figured was the most impressive scenes from LotR and plan to milk them for six or seven movies.

[I_Like_Swordchucks]

Judging by the trailer I've seen, it's exactly like the first movie. How come everything has to be about a big-ass epic battle? I don't recall there being any battles in the book except the last one. It's like they made over what they figured was the most impressive scenes from LotR and plan to milk them for six or seven movies.

There were battles in the book, its just that C.S. Lewis tended to gloss over the violence in favor of making a more child-friendly book.

Disney tends to not gloss over the violence in favor of making it a more entertaining movie.

[shiney]

RT, chill. You are reading way too much into it. There are plenty of references throughout the book which indicate that the Telmarines are not of the same race as the Narnians or the Pevensies. Further it describes them as fairly ruthless, but primarily the men under Miraz's control.

But to take this and make it seem like they are being inherently racist and bigoted because one of the races in the movie is not the same as the other is being just as bigoted in your own words. What if the Telmarines were white as a sheet and the Narnians were all black? Would it then be a racist movie with the Telmarines subjecting the Narnians to slavery and exile? At least the english-accented folks get to be the good guys for once as usually they are painted as the evil masterminds. The simple fact though is that the Narnians/Pevensies WERE white/british/fucking trees/etc. If you're going to be pissed at someone be pissed at C.S. Lewis.

[Lucas...!]

The movie definately looks interesting; i think i'll go see it this weekend. Though, i think maybe i should reread some of the series first. At least the second book.

[RickZarber]

There were battles in the book, its just that C.S. Lewis tended to gloss over the violence in favor of making a more child-friendly book.I dunno... Peter lopping off that guy's head was actually right there in the book!

[Regulus Tera]

RT, chill. You are reading way too much into it. There are plenty of references throughout the book which indicate that the Telmarines are not of the same race as the Narnians or the Pevensies. Further it describes them as fairly ruthless, but primarily the men under Miraz's control.

But to take this and make it seem like they are being inherently racist and bigoted because one of the races in the movie is not the same as the other is being just as bigoted in your own words. What if the Telmarines were white as a sheet and the Narnians were all black? Would it then be a racist movie with the Telmarines subjecting the Narnians to slavery and exile? At least the english-accented folks get to be the good guys for once as usually they are painted as the evil masterminds. The simple fact though is that the Narnians/Pevensies WERE white/british/fucking trees/etc. If you're going to be pissed at someone be pissed at C.S. Lewis.

I was kinda on a hyperbole there but ok, joke's over. (Or not?)

[RickZarber]

I was kinda on a hyperbole there but ok, joke's over.Ha-ha! Facetious (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/facetious)!