"Prince Caspian" Movie Review

OK, so we all, the whole fam, went to see "Prince Caspian" on Saturday. We had actually just watched LWW again that morning, so the first volume was fresh in my mind.

(CAUTION: there will be some spoilers ahead!)

First, I was impressed by the action. For the first 20 minutes, I felt like the movie grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go! Very good.

Second, the fight scenes were much better than LWW. They kept the lighting dark, which was one of my complaints against LWW in which the big battle scene was so "sunny" that I thought they should be having a picnic rather than fighting a war with the White Witch. This time, Adamson kept things dark which added to the realism and other worldliness of Narnia.

Third, they took certain liberties with the story-line, but all in all, I was not disappointed in what they did. For example, the book starts out with the four children at the train station, but the movie begins with Caspian's flight from the castle. They also added later a fight scene at the castle which does not appear in the book at all. Nevertheless, it was well done. There is a very moving scene in that section of a minotaur holding up the gate of the castle so many his comrades can escape. My kids all spoke of that scene later when we shared our opinions of the movie.

Fourth, there was some romantic tension between Queen Susan and Prince Caspian during the whole movie, but at the end, it all comes out and Queen Susan goes up to the prince (now King!) and lays one on the lips! It was a bit shocking at first, but as I thought about it, it was appropriate. Peter and Susan aren't children any more, and that scene underscored the maturity of the older two Pevensie children.

Which leads me to this: Fifth, I was surprised how attached I've become to these actors/actresses who portray the Pevensies. When Peter and Susan announce they won't be coming back, I got all teared up. It was kind of a "Puff the Magic Dragon" moment; they are too old for Narnia now. All my affection for these literary characters has been transferred to these young actors; I suppose that means they have done their jobs well!

Sixth, the guy who played the dwarf Trumpkin was amazing. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

Some differences between the book and the movie

I reread the book yesterday so I could contrast it with the movie while the movie was still fresh in my mind. Here's a summary of prominent contrasts:

The book starts with the four whereas the movie begins with Caspian's ride.

The book sets the train station as a small country station with no one else present; the movie sets the train station in busy London and the scene is one of chaos (and therefore Peter's fight with other students is totally created; I don't know why. Peter comes out looking rather bad in the movie.)

The book devotes considerable space to the relationship between Caspian and his tutor, Dr. Cornelius. The movie barely develops Dr. Cornelius at all.

When Caspian is found, the book puts three (Trumpkin, Nikakbrik and Trufflehunter) in a cave; the movie puts only Nik and Truff, and it is in a tree, not a cave.

Chapter VI there is a prominent scene of fawns dancing; there's no dancing, that I remember, in the movie.

In the book, Caspian blows the horn after some initial battles with King Miraz's forces; in the movie, he blows the horn almost immediately, when he is still riding away from the castle.

The book devotes considerable space to Trumpkin and the children rowing in a boat to get off the island. I don't remember much rowing at all in the movie. The whole travel sequence is abbreviated.

In the book, the bridge at Beruna simply disappears, whereas in the movie, the bridge is the scene of another battle.

Well, there are many more differences, but these are illustrative. I think the spirit of the book was preserved, even if a few liberties were taken here and there. All in all, WELL DONE! This is better than "LWW," and I hope "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (my personal favorite) (2010) will be better still.