| Wednesday, 4 June 2008 |
| prince caspian |
Fantasy has always been an important part of my inner world. I think its important to maintain a large part of your imaginative psyche, so that there's always some place that you can escape to when you are momentarily sick with the real world. Its not too good to live in fantasies, but every now and then, escape into your fantasies is always a welcome respite from the monotony of everyday life.
The Chronicles of Narnia is another historic, well loved fantasy epic that has been in existence for a long long time. Its well loved by many, and after the run away success of The Lord of the Rings movies, Hollywood came knocking on Narnia's door as well. The first film, 'The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe' tells the story of what is arguably the most famous volume of the Narnian Chronicles. This year, its direct sequel, 'Prince Caspian' finally makes it to be big screen, 3 years after the original movie graced movie screens around the world.
'Prince Caspian' is an improved version of the first movie. Its darker, more action packed, more smooth, more professional, less kiddish a movie. The four actors acting as the Penvensie children have grown up and honestly, their acting chops have also improved by leaps and bounds. I must say that the girl (Georgie Henley) who acts as Lucy has improved so much that she no longer looks like she has a mental defect, which was how she appeared to me throughout the original movie. The rest have matured quite well into their respective roles as well, and I especially like the fact that they felt different from how they were in the previous film. There's also a new addition to the young cast, but I felt though, that the guy acting as Prince Caspian, Ben Barnes, churned out a performance that was satisfactory, but extremely bland. His portrayal of Prince Caspian pales in comparison to the Penvensie children, and he really isn't as suave as I picture Caspian to be.
One thing I noticed in this film is the lack of amazing emotional gravitas and solid acting present in the first film, which was provided by Tilda Swinton who played the White Witch then. I miss her! I really do! The few minutes where she appeared in her brief cameo featured what was perhaps the best piece of acting in the whole movie. Tilda Swinton is an amazing actress, and her ability to bring amazing characters to life is similar to the chameleon like abilities of another amazing actress, Cate Blanchett. And I also miss Aslan. Liam Neeson provides Aslan with a voice that has amazing gravitas as well, and you really feel like he is literally portraying a character that has so much kingly charisma. When Aslan appears in the last few scenes of the movie, it feels like something magical has happened and it really invigorates the whole movie. The few scenes with Aslan and the White Witch are some of my favourites, and also some of the best in this movie, mainly because they have a sense of solidness that the young actors just don't have.
The special effects and costumes and creatures are still as amazing and fantastical as ever. The battle scenes, while nowhere as epic of those in The Lord of the Rings, are still enough to make a little boy drool and wish he was a Lord of Narnia and actually there to chop off a couple of Telmarine heads. The storyline is a classic story of growing up, a classic coming-of-age tale, of learning responsibility, of learning how to be a good leader, of learning the importance of faith. Watch it if you enjoy fantasy, because this film will achieve what all fantasy films should achieve, which is to transport you far away from reality.
Just that little break from reality needed.Labels: movie |
posted by voldemort33 @ 22:59  |
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