12-17-2010, 12:40 PM
After reading the book again, it still stands out as the best of the series, but I don't think I quite got it all when I read it in high school. It's really the quest for the holy grail, although the grail is seven lords. The juxtaposition of Eustace as the modern scientific skeptic with Reep as the faithful is Lewis at his best as a Christian writer. It's a great tale, so thick with metaphor that's it's just delicious, like a chocolate Jesus.
As for the movie. Crap.
I can live with little tweaks like Reep not being black and Caspian not being blond. Blond Caspian made the Telmarines seem more ethnic so they could play out some modern metaphors. Dawn Treader shredded the book, flipped all the stories around just to get some stereotypic 'climactic' scenes so prevalent in blockbuster films nowadays. Unfortunately the story arc is so messed up that nothing builds tension towards those climaxes, so they just wind up overdone. Eustace is reduced to a whiner. Edmund fails to live up to the promise of sequel 2, and reverts to a pawn of the White Witch, who appears in some hallucinations, just to be sure Tilda is still in the game. Lucy, who has grown to be a stunning beauty, can't sell the Susan is hotter schtick. Susan, well, she'll never make it to the promised land. She's the only one who gets left behind. Peter is just there for no reason at all, for a tiny cameo. Caspian falls for another star ala Stardust, which is odd. The fights are lame. The effects are okay but nothing new and the Ghostbusters Sea Serpent is totally over done. On the up side, the 3-D is good, not overwhelming but accentuating, making the Dawn Treader look great.
The hardest part is that this will be the a turning point in the series as Lucy drops out. Eustace takes over, and Jill is mentioned in the end (even though she shouldn't be as she doesn't come in until the next book at all. The torch wasn't passed well, so it'll be harder for the franchise to continue. They need to stay with Eustace as the actor will age. But there's the Magician's Nephew and Horse and His Boy that stand out of this timeline. I hope this crew sees the franchise through as Tilda and Liam are good in the roles, but we'll see. This installment messed up a lot of things for the next one. I think it'll all hinge on who they get for Jill.
As for the movie. Crap.
I can live with little tweaks like Reep not being black and Caspian not being blond. Blond Caspian made the Telmarines seem more ethnic so they could play out some modern metaphors. Dawn Treader shredded the book, flipped all the stories around just to get some stereotypic 'climactic' scenes so prevalent in blockbuster films nowadays. Unfortunately the story arc is so messed up that nothing builds tension towards those climaxes, so they just wind up overdone. Eustace is reduced to a whiner. Edmund fails to live up to the promise of sequel 2, and reverts to a pawn of the White Witch, who appears in some hallucinations, just to be sure Tilda is still in the game. Lucy, who has grown to be a stunning beauty, can't sell the Susan is hotter schtick. Susan, well, she'll never make it to the promised land. She's the only one who gets left behind. Peter is just there for no reason at all, for a tiny cameo. Caspian falls for another star ala Stardust, which is odd. The fights are lame. The effects are okay but nothing new and the Ghostbusters Sea Serpent is totally over done. On the up side, the 3-D is good, not overwhelming but accentuating, making the Dawn Treader look great.
The hardest part is that this will be the a turning point in the series as Lucy drops out. Eustace takes over, and Jill is mentioned in the end (even though she shouldn't be as she doesn't come in until the next book at all. The torch wasn't passed well, so it'll be harder for the franchise to continue. They need to stay with Eustace as the actor will age. But there's the Magician's Nephew and Horse and His Boy that stand out of this timeline. I hope this crew sees the franchise through as Tilda and Liam are good in the roles, but we'll see. This installment messed up a lot of things for the next one. I think it'll all hinge on who they get for Jill.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse