May 19, 2008

The Return to Narnia

It was May 16th. The day we had all been waiting for, for so long. The day my friends and I had been planning for and talking about for moths. Now it was here.

As I sat watching the opening footage of the new movie Prince Caspian, I could hardly believe that I was really there, watching it. It just didn't seem real. After all those movie trailers that I watched, I thought. All those months of looking at every photo shot I could find over and over again... all the discussion and speculation, now I am finally going to see it!
Is this real?
I wondered.

Watching Caspian riding for his life, it finally sank in and I began crying in awe, excitement, amazement and gratitude for the gift I had been given in being able to see this movie. I have never felt that way about any film ever before. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, going to see a film for the first time. Never again will you have the feeling of sitting in a dark theater, straining to see what will happen next, because you've never seen this film before.

I knew right away that this would be not be anywhere near a faithful adaptation of the book, but I didn’t care. I had anticipated that fact, and made up my mind that it wouldn't ruin my enjoyment of the movie. I was here to have a great time. And I certainly did. I walked on air for two days straight after leaving the movie theater. Right now, hearing the music or seeing pictures would be enough to send me into raptures again.

After the first moments of disbelief, I was sucked into the action and had eyes and ears for nothing else. I giggled with delight as Reepicheep (He is sooo cute!) leapt on to the scene; my heart ached as hundreds of Narnian's were massacred due to messed up battle plans. I hated it when the credits stopped rolling.

I will admit that the movie did have its flaws (though few.) Example, for the majority of the movie, Peter was a complete jerk. (For those of you who have heard of my "engagement" to him, I have seriously considered ditching Peter for Reepicheep. ;) I can, however, understand where he was coming from, I might have even acted the same way if I were him. He 'repented' so to speak, so I might get married to him after all!

What I disliked the most was the fact that the filmmakers left out the gradual sightings of Aslan by the Pevensie children. They included Lucy being able to see him, but seemingly 'forgot' that as they walk down the river gorge and to Aslan's How, Edmund, Peter and Susan one by one are able to see him as well.

Also, was it just me, or have the centaurs started dressing differently since the Golden Age of Narnia? It seems to me that I remember them with a bit more clothing on their upper halves. Compare Orieus and Glenstorm.

On the positive side, I loved how the relationship between Lucy and Aslan was portrayed. By seeing Aslan through the eyes of Lucy, you were brought much closer to him then in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He seemed warmer, more touchable, more real. I felt that I knew this Aslan better then I did in the LWW. Those little glances between Aslan and Lucy every now and then were fantastic, you could tell they must have been reading each others thoughts. Both of them were great!

And as for what has to have been the most controversial element in the whole film (hands down without a doubt) the Caspian/Susan romance, I have to say that it was very nicely done. With the possible exception of the farewell scene, it was never made the focus of attention, definitely being a side issue - from my perspective anyhow. The infamous kiss wasn't nearly as bad as it appeared in the trailer, because now you saw it in context and it seemed a natural thing for Susan to do. Now, don't hit me over the head, but I shall come out and say it - I liked the kissing scene. The romance was great too. (There now all you who hate it can come chasing after me.)

One of my favorite parts was listening to the wonderful musical score underlying the action. Much of the music was re-played from LWW, bringing you back to Narnia. I love the score for these films, and have listened to the LWW soundtrack over and over until I know every minute of it. I actually was able to predict when scenes in PC were going to switch by listening to the music and remembering what happened at that point in the LWW. (I was right, of course. It even switched to the scene I thought it would.) The credit songs were not the quality of the first film -also, I don't really care for that kind of music - but the first one did fit with the closing scenes of the movie really well.

For the movie - in the absence of Susan and Lucy's dresses - I looked at photos of their hair-do's and my sisters and I went with their hairstyles. My hair was similar to Susan's when she was wearing her purple dress, and I wore it like that the next day because I couldn't have done otherwise. =) Oh, and I did bring with my Prince Caspian (see below post). He enjoyed the film almost as much as I did, so he tells me.

Overall, I absolutly loved this film and I look forward to seeing it again - and again and again. It was wonderful to be brought back into Narnia once more, even a Narnia that differed from the books. I eagerly await setting sail on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010.

Ps. Yes, I admit now that Caspian has a Spanish accent! Though really, I still can't figure how you heard it from the few lines he said in the trailer. A bit distracting a times, but cool none the less.

10 comments:

  1. I can't wait until "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" comes out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. it was soooo cool!!!!!!!!!!! i loved it! I am prince Caspian!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My sister went to see it at 12:01 AM on Friday with a friend! I was at home asleep getting some much needed rest in preparation for a big performance that evening. :)
    I hope to go see it in the next few days!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw it!!!!!! I feel like all the way through, I was apart of it, lived it, and loved every second of it! I saw it yesterday and I did my hair and two other girls' hair like Lucy's; with the two little ropes. I am going to buy Prince Caspian the day it comes out on DVD.
    -Coon

    ReplyDelete
  5. I must say, I was impressed at how the film took a serious turn. But for me, it didn't make the strongest impression. I mean, it was great! But, just didn't cut it. lol I guess I'm used too much to Tolkien. I must see it again though! The score is a re-rendering of LWW soundtrack, with some new themes, and a darker beat. None-the-less, I can still see William's similiarities as in the first Narnia soundtrack, and that of Kingdom of Heaven. Do you own the soundtrack? If you do, I'm sure you'll notice a new 'beat.' Sounds a bit modern, but it adds to the tension of the film.

    Speaking on the Spanish influence for the Telmarines... Though it did give an awesome style to the film, could there be the possibility that the Spanish were chosen for a particular reason as the villains? Lol Sorry, just something ticking in the back of my mind...

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOL, no, I think it had something to do with the fact that they (in the books) were desendant from priates (in the South Pacific?). I read the reason somewhere....

    ReplyDelete
  7. It really was a great movie! And I liked it better than the book I think. Parts of it that they added just seemed to fit so well and made the story flow better than I think it did in the book. And I usually like the book better, so this is a rare admission!!

    Also, I too missed the part where the Pevensies one by one saw Aslan, but I think that was the only thing that disappointed me that was different from the book.

    Oh! And I've officially decided that Lucy is an allegory for a nun. I mean, a nun is the spouse of Christ and gives herself and her love totally to Him. That is the way I view Lucy's relationship with Aslan. It was much more striking in this book/movie than LWW.

    On a side note, my sister has gone absolutley nuts!! I thought that she would stop constantly talking about the movie after we saw it, but it was a vain hope. Her chatter about the movie has atleast doubled since we saw it and the line "I want to go see Prince Caspian" (now with "again" added) is spoken by her no less than 10-20 times daily!!! AHHHH!!! Someone save me!!!

    =)

    ~Jo March (soon to be Mrs. Caspian)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, one question...your Prince Caspian??? Can't seem to find an explanation in a previous post...

    ~Jo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Don't worry my dear! I did not mean your husband! My Prince Caspian is a little horse, look on the post "Never Fear! Prince Caspian is Near!" down near the bottom of the page.

    Was it amazing! Or was it amazing!

    Yep, I have seen your sister, so I know. She still hasn't shown me her movie guide yet!

    ~ Soon-to-be- Mrs. Peter (Yes, I'm still engaged. Edmund's taken, and Reep is a mouse. Peter isn't that bad. =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. But she wasn't married!!!!! Or even engaged for that matter!!!!! Maybe I'm just prejudiced against kissing. :-) But seriously, I think they ought to at least wait until they're engaged, unless it's what I'll call a "polite" kiss (wierd choice of words).

    Nice review otherwise. I'll go and finish reading it.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome, and thank you for taking a few minutes to share your thoughts with me! I do love reading all and any comments. =] Please note that I do moderate, and any comments that do not meet with my standards and approval will be deleted. Thank you!