Narnia Two: Prince Caspian
[Spoilers, so beware.]
So we went to see Children in Happy Fun Land with Furry Animals....I mean, Narnia 2: Prince Caspian today.
It really was better than the book (which put me to sleep) and the beginning definitely drew you in. Except it was predictable as hell.
First off, they give away who the freggin' bad guy is in the second scene. Which, in turn, made me roll my eyes and condemn this movie from the beginning.
Okay, so the characters were a bit better than the first one, but they were still one-dimensional, and the dialogue was laughable at best. The lines weren't spaced right and the acting was only barely believable. Prince Caspian was about as deep as the grass on a football field, and you could see the twists and turns in his personality coming from a mile away. The scene with the White Witch was boring and unnecessary, and Edward saving Peter from temptation? Um. Way to be subtle about character growth.
I did go into this movie with some reservations, yes, but for all the Bible-likeness, I can't resist good CGI (I cringed my way through 10,000 BC, for crying out loud). Yet the CGI was barely up to par in this movie. They got all the animal movements wrong (they had tigers moving like dogs!). I realize that only a few overly observational people like me would notice this, but it felt like it was glaring at me every time it came up. The Minotaurs were guys in suits, compared to the really awesome stuff they had in the first one.
One of the few good features was the the mouse. Oh, I want to know who played that mouse, because he was undoubtedly the best character in the movie.
Aslan was a bit of a dick in this one. I don't recall him being such a dick in the books. He basically says "Oh, no, I'm only going to help you when you're all about to die." And they have him completely steal the show, after which he's smug and everyone has a little gather together and worship the mighty lion party. Seriously, we get the idea that this guy is supposed to represent some mythological cultist who supposedly lived 2000 years ago, but can we drop it and focus on this story?
The defeat scene is easy to see coming. Halfway though the movie you can pretty much already figure out how everything will happen. However, there are a few surprising plot points in between that will redeem it a little (and that I'm not going to give away).
So, my grade for Narnia 2:
Acting: C
Plot: B-
CGI: B-
Direction: C
Overall: B-
So we went to see Children in Happy Fun Land with Furry Animals....I mean, Narnia 2: Prince Caspian today.
It really was better than the book (which put me to sleep) and the beginning definitely drew you in. Except it was predictable as hell.
First off, they give away who the freggin' bad guy is in the second scene. Which, in turn, made me roll my eyes and condemn this movie from the beginning.
Okay, so the characters were a bit better than the first one, but they were still one-dimensional, and the dialogue was laughable at best. The lines weren't spaced right and the acting was only barely believable. Prince Caspian was about as deep as the grass on a football field, and you could see the twists and turns in his personality coming from a mile away. The scene with the White Witch was boring and unnecessary, and Edward saving Peter from temptation? Um. Way to be subtle about character growth.
I did go into this movie with some reservations, yes, but for all the Bible-likeness, I can't resist good CGI (I cringed my way through 10,000 BC, for crying out loud). Yet the CGI was barely up to par in this movie. They got all the animal movements wrong (they had tigers moving like dogs!). I realize that only a few overly observational people like me would notice this, but it felt like it was glaring at me every time it came up. The Minotaurs were guys in suits, compared to the really awesome stuff they had in the first one.
One of the few good features was the the mouse. Oh, I want to know who played that mouse, because he was undoubtedly the best character in the movie.
Aslan was a bit of a dick in this one. I don't recall him being such a dick in the books. He basically says "Oh, no, I'm only going to help you when you're all about to die." And they have him completely steal the show, after which he's smug and everyone has a little gather together and worship the mighty lion party. Seriously, we get the idea that this guy is supposed to represent some mythological cultist who supposedly lived 2000 years ago, but can we drop it and focus on this story?
The defeat scene is easy to see coming. Halfway though the movie you can pretty much already figure out how everything will happen. However, there are a few surprising plot points in between that will redeem it a little (and that I'm not going to give away).
So, my grade for Narnia 2:
Acting: C
Plot: B-
CGI: B-
Direction: C
Overall: B-