Product: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Two Disc Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
Great film, not so great adaption
I read the Narnia Series with my Dad when I was five, and have adored them since, so I am probably a bit biased in favor of the books.Even taking bias into account, however, I have to say that the film fell short of my expectations.The action and the special effects were incredible, and I certainly can't find fault with them, but the plot adaption and several characters were just awful.I liked the portrayal of Nikabrik, Trumpkin and Reepicheep (yes, he really is that disgustingly noble and battle-ready), especially Nikabrik, and Miraz was a wonderful example of guy-we-love-to-hate. I also liked that we saw more of Prumaprismia, and that Glozzelle was changed from a lord to a general, giving us a good example that not all Telmarines are rotten apples.Caspian I also thought was well played, starting out as naieve, then with a growing maturity. The way he discovered that his uncle killed his father was a bit too 'Star Wars' for my taste, but it could have been worse.I enjoyed how they brought back the White Witch as a temptation, simultaniously giving Peter and Caspian a slap up the head, and the symbolism of Edmund being the one to break the ice.The other characters, however, were something of a let down. In the Book Version of Prince Caspian, Peter is very mature and responsible, and tells Caspian that he has 'not come to take your place, but to put you in it'. Given that, why is movie-Peter suddenly acting like a self-obsessed brat and playing my-throne-is-bigger-than-your-throne?While watching the movie, I often found myself looking around to see if I could find Susan. Movie-Susan spends the first half of the film whining about just about everything, then turns into a fighting heroine a few seconds after meeting Caspian. What happened to the Susan who was a mostly sensible and nice girl, (She was called 'the Gentle' for a reason, people) but listened to her fears too much. And when did she turn into a Xena-knock-off?Lucy and Edmund I found very little complaint with, but I felt that their parts were very over-shadowed. I enjoyed how Edmund and Lucy were coming into their own, especially the way Lucy was standing up for what she believed in and showing the Faithful and Valiant Narnian Queen that we all love, and Edmund's new maturity.On the other hand, I found the Susan/Caspian romance unrealistic and pointless. It served no real purpose, had no connection to the plot, and was badly-done to begin with. Yes, we are repeatedly informed throughout the series that Susan is the 'beauty of the family' but they are in the middle of a war! They spend almost no time together, have nothing in common, and Susan shows no interest until a few minutes before the end of the film, when she kisses him in front of everyone. Given the middle-ages setting of Narnia, that would not be seen as acceptable behavior for a Queen, especially with no formal intentions between them.Overall: lots of potential and good effects, but definately could have been better.