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Yawn.
Wow, isn't this pretty.
Yawn.
Have we been here all day.
It was a very disjointed sort of movie. It's like they did scenes from the book rather than finding some sort of narrative structure to connect it all together. Characters just are, they don't develop. Reasons for characteristics are just stated never given any background. The four childred are the Kings and Queens of Narnia. Why? Because the prophesy says so. Allright then. All hail the Kings and Queens.
Who do you want to lead our army into battle? The king of course. Has he demonstrated any gift for combat or leadership? Is their something in his background that points towards military brilliance? No, but he is the king. Then let him lead. Off we go.
As I thought about how the kids became king all I cold think of was this quote from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail":
Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
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Lucy was this dumpy, homely girl which gave her character a totally different outlook than Jackson's version. Peter seemed younger than Edmund, which didn't work. Jadis (the ice queen) was way hammy, which felt more like the books (Jadis was doomed by Aslan to always know she would be evil but be helpless to cope with it). I far prefer Jackson's Jadis, who was more like th borg queen with her icy-ness and that was totally hot. The effects were crappy. Bad animation for the flying beasts. Silly costumes, especially the beavers. Felt more like a version of the Wind and the Willows.
But the Aslan puppet was amazing. It was like a pantomine horse or a Chinese lion with two people inside, but the eyes and face were great. I'd love that puppet. It was all about that puppet.
Been debating about renting the Rankin Bass version, but I have horrid memories of bad animation and a wimpy Aslan.
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... so I came in with very low expectations and was entertained. But I'm not claiming any greatness for it.
I particularly enjoyed Cate Blanchett hamming it up as the queen. And her costumes were good.
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Not Cate Blanchette. If it was, I would have gone to see it. Tilda Swindon, or some such. Not Cate, though. Cate is mightier than Nutella. Cate rocks. None dare spake agin the Cate.
PPFY(ZY)
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Yes, it was Tilda Swinton. I had the wrong pale Englishwoman. (Cate did play a queen once too, although not as hammily.) I like them both, even if I can't tell them apart.
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Cate's an Aussie. I know my Cate. Yes, I do. Some day, I shall have her. Oh, yes, I shall...
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Lots of battles, which is how I remember the book. The battles are mediocre at best, a few been-there CGI moments but in the end, unrewarding. Like the Potter kids, the Narnia kids are coming of age, which happened in the books too. Lucy is older, loosing her cuteness and hoping to blossom into a movie babe. Peter and Susan give their swan song. Peter still hasn't grown so is thoroughly unconvincing. Susan negotiates womanhood and almost gets away with it since it's a rather petty side story, just enough to squeeze in a kiss. Edmund grows well into the role, which is good since we'll rely on him to deliver more in future films.
The highlight of the film was Tilda. She *is* Jadis and the success or failure of the rest of the serires relies solely upon her. Sadly, she's only in a short scene, but it's far and above the best scene in the film.
I hope they can sustain it until Dawn Treader.
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In one movie note, Disney has opted not to pick up "Voyage of the Dawn Trader". It does not bode well for the series.
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What does Disney have the rights for then? They're not going back for Horse and his Boy, are they? The series was weirdly non-linear, or I should say has two potential timelines. L,W & W is traditionally the first one, but T's version is presented chronologically, so Magician's Nephew is first. I can see the reasoning behind following Lucy, but VotDT would be next then, right?
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I think so.
Disney wasn't the producer per se, they were the distributor. But they put up the money for the picture and I believe Walden Media did the work. Now, Walden has to find somebody else put up the bucks.
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You got me curious enough to do some webchecking and I found this on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0691600/news#ni0636038. What I find interesting about it is that it names Susan and Peter, both of whom aren't really in Dawn Treader. That's partly the problem with presenting all the Narnia books. Lewis's work was really tight as a grand epic story, but unlike LotR and HP, it doesn't stay with the same protagonists throughout the work. That's part of what I liked about it. They really should have gone with Horse and his Boy next, because it would have put a fine spin on the narrative, but given that the kids (Lucy & Edmund) are aging faster in reality than in the film (ala HP) I can see why they'd want to skip it and come back for it. They had different actors for the adult Pevensies, but who really cares if they stay consistant by the time they go back for Horse. Horse, of course, is told from a different perspective.
Back to Caspian, I will say the Christian themes were much more pronounced in the film. The whole 'faith in Aslan' trip didn't really hit me as hard in the book as it did in the film.
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07-19-2017, 11:42 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-20-2017, 04:53 PM by Drunk Monk.)
Just rewatched the first film with Tilda, Liam, & Broadbent (hp+1).Very enjoyable - aged well in comparison to other CGI driven YA adaptations.
T put forth the Potter poach - Peter = Gryffindor, Susan = Ravenclaw, Edmund = Slytherin, Lucy = Hufflepuff. J.K. Laughing all the way to the bank.
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Recently read Magician's Nephew. Enjoyed it, but didn't keep going. Somehow I didn't remember any of it from my childhood reading. But now I know where the lamppost came from.
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(07-19-2017, 11:42 PM)Drunk Monk Wrote: Just rewatched the first film with Tilda, Liam, & Broadbent (hp+1).Very enjoyable - aged well in comparison to other CGI driven YA adaptations.
T put forth the Potter poach - Peter = Gryffindor, Susan = Ravenclaw, Edmund = Slytherin, Lucy = Hufflepuff. J.K. Laughing all the way to the bank.
I never read any of the books. I remember seein the first movie and thinking, "Meh."
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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