The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Today is "Saturday at the Movies with my friend Jean from Sizzling Popcorn and MTMD. Last night we both saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and decided to collaborate together on an EntreCard blogosphere movie review. We hope you'll enjoy!

MTMD (9:32:47 PM): Hello MTMD and SizzlingPopcorn Readers...We've popped up a bit of a treat for you...We've both just seen The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and we've got a movie review for you, Ebert and Roeper style....isn't that right SP?

SizzlingPopcorn (9:33:12 PM): That's right!

MTMD(9:34:34 PM): LOL...this is fun. Prince Caspian picks up 1300 years after The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe left off in Narnia. But for the Pevensies, only 1 year has passed in England.

SizzlingPopcorn (9:37:41 PM): When they find themselves in Narnia again, they discover that Narnia is in ruins after being conquered by the Telmarines.

MTMD (9:38:32 PM): Prince Caspian is on the run from his Uncle Miraz, the would-be king of the Telmarines, and the Narnians are hiding underground.

SizzlingPopcorn (9:41:10 PM): The Kings and Queens of old (the Pevensies), with the help of others, embark on a journey to find Aslan and rescue Narnia from King Miraz. Only this time, Aslan doesn't come forward until the end of the movie, leaving King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, Queen Lucy and Prince Caspian to make decisions and decide on the course of action that will either restore freedom to Narnia, or to enslave it forever in the grasp of an evil Telmarine King.

MTMD (9:43:01 PM): That about sums up the main conflict. What did you think of the movie, SP?

SizzlingPopcorn (9:48:54 PM): I really liked the fight scenes and the fact that there might be a total of 2 drops of blood in the whole movie. Unlike other epic films that feature a lot of blood in the battles, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian takes away all the blood and gore, as it is a movie geared for a younger audience. I find the soundtrack really brings the movie alive. It gives the movie a pulse as Prince Caspian is chased at the beginning of the film. What did you think of the battles?

MTMD (9:53:23 PM): I agree, they were wonderful. I don't believe they were as epic in scope as the showdown with the white witch in the first Narnia movie, but they were more innovative. The storm on the Telmarine Castle with the gryphons carrying the Kings and Queens was spectacular. The assault in the field was a little too reminiscent of The Return of the King, for me, as was the climactic scene with the river god--to me that harkened back the summoning of the river in The Fellowship of the Ring. But they were well done, and intense. The score is completely derivative from the first Narnia movie, and I think the musical elements tied the two films together nicely.

SizzlingPopcorn (9:56:39 PM): Yes, they definitely did! I didn't really like how the river god popped out of nowhere. It just seemed that the writers were looking for something to get rid of the enemies.

MTMD (9:58:13 PM): Well, that scene was actually in the book, and I think the special effects artists did an incredible job with rendering it. But throughout the movie, liberties were taken with the text. For example, the scene with the White Witch in the movie was completely fabricated, but I think it definitely added to the dramatic effect of the movie, and it was awesome the way Edmund got to get his revenge dispatching her.

SizzlingPopcorn (9:59:08 PM): I see...I've never read the books, but I might pick them up this summer! How did you find the acting?

MTMD (10:02:01 PM): The acting was good. I was really expecting more emotion and an increase in depth of the characters, kind of the way the actors in the Harry Potter series have grown with each new film, but other than their physical appearance being a little older, I really didn't notice any increase in depth. Unfortunately, I found the bad guys pretty one-dimensional. So much was happening in this action-packed sequel that not a lot of time was given to character development. Characters just appeared out of nowhere with almost no introduction. And unless you read the book recently, I imagine it would be quite hard to follow them all--especially Reepicheep.

SizzlingPopcorn (10:04:01 PM): I found that one of King Miraz's right-hand men looked like Saddam Hussein. But overall, the acting was fairly good.

MTMD (10:04:59 PM): I didn't want to comment on that. I hope the resemblance wasn't intentional, but you can't but help feel that those doing the casting were playing on our fears and prejudices just a little. What was the most fun moment of the movie for you?

SizzlingPopcorn (10:09:28 PM): I liked the scene at the beginning where the two guys are in the boat with the dwarf and Susan tells them to drop him.

MTMD (10:09:58 PM): LOL! That was hilarious. The dwarf did have some awesome looks and one-liners.

SizzlingPopcorn (10:10:48 PM): Yes....that scene reminded me of a couple of scenes from other movies where they have two guys acting stupid in a boat in the middle of nowhere. (Pirates of the Caribbean and The Water Horse)

MTMD (10:12:04 PM): I really appreciated the comic relief coming from Reepicheep and the squirrel...the one liner: "We could gather nuts" had the theater crowd howling in laughter. And the interaction with the cat in the castle was definitely a nod to Puss in Boots from Shrek.

SizzlingPopcorn (10:13:18 PM): I saw it at noon with about 10 people in the theater and there weren't any reactions from the crowd.

MTMD (10:13:39 PM): Yano, sometimes a crowd can make or break a movie....

SizzlingPopcorn (10:13:48 PM): That's right! They must have been taking an afternoon nap!

MTMD (10:15:57 PM): Well if the crowd in your theater missed anything due to napping it's a shame. Overall, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian delivers and satisfies on every level. It's got action. It's got tenderness. It's got four major battle scenes counting the duel between King Peter and King Miraz, it's got breathtaking cinematography, a score to inspire and to tug at the heart strings, and a bit of a surprise tearjerker in the end--though not what you would expect.

SizzlingPopcorn (10:17:19 PM): That's exactly right! Well said! I'm not sure how you rate your movies, but how would you rate The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian?

MTMD (10:19:40 PM): I'd have to give it an A-. I believed it was loyal to the source material and actually improved upon it. The only thing I found detracting was just a little lack of character development. Other than that, it was thoroughly enjoyable. I'd see it in the theater again. Would you agree?

SizzlingPopcorn (10:22:43 PM): I would agree! It's a definite must-see blockbuster! At SizzlingPopcorn, we use a unique rating system: Sizzling Popcorn (Blockbuster or Oscar-bound), Popcorn (a good movie), Kernel (a rental), and Burnt Popcorn (don't waste your money on this movie!). I would give it a Sizzling Popcorn!

MTMD (10:23:26 PM): That's awesome, SP! And you know what?

SizzlingPopcorn (10:23:43 PM): What?

MTMD (10:24:02 PM): That's a wrap!


Thanks for reading.

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