omgnarnia!
I finally saw it, and let me just say... Yay!
Nothing was cut. Literally nothing. Things were actually added. Okay, boring stuff was cut, like long stretches of walking or preparing meals, but no actual scenes were cut. Some were changed or replaced, and some went in directions that I don't know Lewis would have approved up, but they were changes for the better. It was updated, really, to take into account the JK Rowling-inspired move towards less idealistic children's literature.
For example, they didn't gloss over the fact that it was set during WWII. Instead, they created a sort of dualism between our world and Narnia, which makes sense; if the kids have had to see their father off in the army, move from their home, and leave their mother all because of a war, wouldn't that affect their reactions to being told that they have to fight a war? Yes, it would. And the movie considers that angle. It creates a flawed universe with flawed protagonists. (This probably undercuts the whole Christian allegory thing. But it makes a better story.)
The kiddie actors were pretty good. They all had moments where I had to think to myself, "That was the best take? Really?" but they also all had moments of impressive acting skill. Peter is my favourite, probably because his character took the brunt of this whole newer and more realistic angle; he was definitely the kingly-type, but he was also nervous, daunted at the thought of so much responsibility, and learning as he went, as they all were. Lucy is my second favourite; she's so innocent, so completely unsocialized, that she has a brilliantly unique view of the world. Edmund comes third; kind of a jerk, but still interesting. Susan I didn't like; her character felt shaky and unclear, and although it served a dramatic purpose, she didn't have the same kind of clear progress that the other three did. But she's kind of a tough one to peg in the books, too; I get the feeling she's almost there for symmetry, and that is CS Lewis had lived in a less sexist period, she would have been much more interesting.
God is in the details, and the details worked so well. Things like staging and camera angles and lighitng and even sound editing... This movie should sweep the Minor Technical Oscars!
Overall, I think what made it so good was that it just felt complete. Like The Lord of the Rings, it was a full universe. Unlike The Lord of the Rings, the pacing may actually have been better in the movie than in the book.
**
I think I spelled symmetry wrong.
**
Nothing was cut. Literally nothing. Things were actually added. Okay, boring stuff was cut, like long stretches of walking or preparing meals, but no actual scenes were cut. Some were changed or replaced, and some went in directions that I don't know Lewis would have approved up, but they were changes for the better. It was updated, really, to take into account the JK Rowling-inspired move towards less idealistic children's literature.
For example, they didn't gloss over the fact that it was set during WWII. Instead, they created a sort of dualism between our world and Narnia, which makes sense; if the kids have had to see their father off in the army, move from their home, and leave their mother all because of a war, wouldn't that affect their reactions to being told that they have to fight a war? Yes, it would. And the movie considers that angle. It creates a flawed universe with flawed protagonists. (This probably undercuts the whole Christian allegory thing. But it makes a better story.)
The kiddie actors were pretty good. They all had moments where I had to think to myself, "That was the best take? Really?" but they also all had moments of impressive acting skill. Peter is my favourite, probably because his character took the brunt of this whole newer and more realistic angle; he was definitely the kingly-type, but he was also nervous, daunted at the thought of so much responsibility, and learning as he went, as they all were. Lucy is my second favourite; she's so innocent, so completely unsocialized, that she has a brilliantly unique view of the world. Edmund comes third; kind of a jerk, but still interesting. Susan I didn't like; her character felt shaky and unclear, and although it served a dramatic purpose, she didn't have the same kind of clear progress that the other three did. But she's kind of a tough one to peg in the books, too; I get the feeling she's almost there for symmetry, and that is CS Lewis had lived in a less sexist period, she would have been much more interesting.
God is in the details, and the details worked so well. Things like staging and camera angles and lighitng and even sound editing... This movie should sweep the Minor Technical Oscars!
Overall, I think what made it so good was that it just felt complete. Like The Lord of the Rings, it was a full universe. Unlike The Lord of the Rings, the pacing may actually have been better in the movie than in the book.
**
I think I spelled symmetry wrong.
**