[Cavey]

Prince Caspian was excellently done. The special effects were some of the best I have seen (I was not impressed with the S.E. in the first film, but this has improved tremendously.). The characters--particularly King Peter--had a lot more depth than the book provides; the characters were 3 dimensional and believable.

There were several additions to the film that were not in the book. However, most of them were done well (I thought the Susan-Caspian romance was lame and unnecessary.). Even the castle battle scene fit with the flow of the book, which referenced such a battle without ever going into detail.

What I didn't enjoy were the parts let out. In the book, the Telemarines are not defeated by skills on the battlefield, but by the playfulness of children "frolicking" with the Great Lion through the towns and countryside of Narnia. Crowds of people, nyads, & dryads dance around Aslan and Bacchus on his donkey as water turns into rivers of wine, buildings become flowers, and the sick and elderly are miraculously healed to join in the romp.

C.S. Lewis did a masterful job of turning "dark" Narnia into a place of laughter and joy in the final chapters of the book. The film seemed more intent on making it about battles and war, even having Peter behead an enemy.

Had I never read the book, I would give this film an A. But being familiar with the masterpiece, I have to give it a B for straying too far from the original intent/storyline.

[gemdisney]

I loved it as did my DS. It has been a while sense I read the book but I thought the romance with Susan & Caspian was in the book, just not as much as the movie. I cry every time I see Aslan...I will stop here before I ruin it for people who haven't seen it yet! DH had to leave the theatre with DD who wanted to run wild instead of watch, so I can't wait to go back and see it again with him...bringing tissues this time!
PackerBeth-I would say the call is all up to you! As in all movies the book is better and I think you will still want to finish the book after seeing the movie. Sometimes I prefer to see the movie first, or have a gap between the two so I'm not as hard on the movie not being as I imagined it would be.
As for me, I loved it! But I am totally rereading the books again.
Cavey, I too agree that the frolicking was missed.
DS has now decided he needs to "really" read the book b/c of all the ?he threw at me while I tried to watch the movie!

[tragic312]

i just got home from watching "Prince Caspian" and I thought it was done so well. it has wonderful special effects, a great story line, and quite a bit of comedy. it was great to see how much the kids have grown since LWW. my friend natalie and i are going to see it together and i'm already looking forward to watching it a second time. i read the book so long ago so only a few parts rang some bells. but i do have to say the movie was excellent.

[sue299]

I have never read the book. DH and I went to see the movie today. I thought it was GREAT! I agree the SE were awesome. Can't wait to go to DW and see the props they have.

[nitaworm]

Thanks for the review! I am taking the fam to see it today! (my DH's true pleasure is going to see movies..so there is not many we don't miss as we generally go every weekend.)

[angell1975]

Thanks for the review! My DH and I are going to see it this afternoon and was hoping it was well done.

[Cavey]

Originally Posted by gemdisney

I loved it as did my DS. It has been a while sense I read the book but I thought the romance with Susan & Caspian was in the book, just not as much as the movie.

Not at all! In the book Susan would have been 13yo (she was 12 in LWW). Caspian's age is not given, but the book makes him appear even younger, like 11 or 12. In fact all the characters in the film are too old for the book's characters.

[gemdisney]

Originally Posted by Cavey

Not at all! In the book Susan would have been 13yo (she was 12 in LWW). Caspian's age is not given, but the book makes him appear even younger, like 11 or 12. In fact all the characters in the film are too old for the book's characters.

HUH! I have no idea where I got that idea from. I'm stumped. I am going to go back and reread the books again once DS is out of school. I think I'm more excited than he is to reread them...I think he only got to "the Silver Chair" and got discouraged b/c I blew him away and was done bfore he knew it.

[Boss Mouse]

All in all, Cavey a B is a good rating from someone who has read the classic tomes.

[Cavey]

Originally Posted by Boss Mouse

All in all, Cavey a B is a good rating from someone who has read the classic tomes.

And again, as a straight out movie, I'd give it an A. Much better than Iron Man.

[gemdisney]

Did you hear they are planning on doing, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" for release in 2010? I just read it on another thread. I need to get up on Disney/Narnia news...and reread the books!

[bransworld]

We saw the movie yesterday and all enjoyed it very much. It has been awhile since i had read the book so i had forgotten some things. I wish i would have gone back to reread the book before the movie like i do with all the Harry Potter movies.

[KingOMiami]

Originally Posted by Cavey

And again, as a straight out movie, I'd give it an A. Much better than Iron Man.

WOW that is pretty strong saying it is better than Iron Man. DW & I saw that opening weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. If this is better than that, then I know I will be most happy

Of course the big thing is to see the new Indiana Jones movie this weekend at DTD.

[Cavey]

Originally Posted by KingOMiami

Of course the big thing is to see the new Indiana Jones movie this weekend at DTD.

Indy is not getting good reviews from any of the critics.

And I was reading that Disney is disappointed with Prince Caspian's weekend take. Apparently, $53M wasn't enough. They expected $80M. And they know Indy IV is going to blow PC out of the water next weekend. I hope this doesn't effect future films.

[chastmastr]

Originally Posted by Cavey

What I didn't enjoy were the parts let out. In the book, the Telemarines are not defeated by skills on the battlefield, but by the playfulness of children "frolicking" with the Great Lion through the towns and countryside of Narnia. Crowds of people, nyads, & dryads dance around Aslan and Bacchus on his donkey as water turns into rivers of wine, buildings become flowers, and the sick and elderly are miraculously healed to join in the romp.

They... cut all of that out??? (I was hoping my info was wrong on that...)

Good Lord, what's the point then? (What do they teach them in these schools these days?) That's, like, my very favorite part of the whole book and arguably the ultimate point on a metaphysical level...

David