Overall, I really enjoyed the movie, but I thought I could have been better.

Likes

I thought the cast was great. I especially liked the Eddie Izzard (Reepicheep), Peter Dinklage (Trumpkin), and Sergio Castellitto (Miraz).
I liked how the filmmakers really seemed to think about what it would be like for a kid to fulfill a prophecy, be crowned king or queen, age fifteen years, and then go back to a world where you're just a kid. That kind experience would have a huge effect on a character. Although, I think they took it a bit too far with Peter (but that’s for the dislike section).
The scene where Aslan and Lucy stand on the bridge and Lucy take out her dagger is classic. She is facing an entire army with just a dagger and yet she feels safe because Aslan is with her.

Dislikes

I didn’t like how they changed the personalities of some of the characters. For example, the Peter in PC the film seemed very different from the Peter from the books and even from the Peter in LWW the movie. The Peter from the book would never even begin think about bringing the White Witch out of the past.
I don’t think they focused enough on the part where Lucy sees Aslan and no one else does. This part shows how strong her faith and it is only briefly shown in the movie. I think this decision is going to mess them up if the make LB. This is the first clue that Susan’s faith is not as strong as the others and it slightly foreshadows what happens in LB. (I don’t want to say any more for those who haven’t read the book yet.
The kiss between Susan in Caspian. People say long-distance relationships are hard. Well, that’s the ultimate long distance relationship.

So it would make since for in CoN for Aslan to save the children and Old Narnia after they remember it is him they are fight for. He uses everything the go through to put them back on the right path and remind them of who he is.

Good point!

I liked how the filmmakers really seemed to think about what it would be like for a kid to fulfill a prophecy, be crowned king or queen, age fifteen years, and then go back to a world where you're just a kid. That kind experience would have a huge effect on a character. . . .The scene where Aslan and Lucy stand on the bridge and Lucy take out her dagger is classic. She is facing an entire army with just a dagger and yet she feels safe because Aslan is with her.

Agreed! I liked these parts too. The first thing you mentioned really fleshed out the background to the story, especially Peter's character. I wrote the following in my PC movie review:

Although most of the early scenes at the railroad station are not in the book, they’re crucial to showing us the Pevensies’ characters, how they’ve changed while away from Narnia and how their faith in Aslan has grown or dwindled. Their attitudes also foreshadow their actions in Narnia.

The kiss between Susan in Caspian. People say long-distance relationships are hard. Well, that’s the ultimate long distance relationship.

LOL!

*gently nudges the thread back on topic and away from N&C territory*

How can a person say what they liked and didn't like in this movie without mentioning or discussing N[arnia] & C[hristianity]?! It is relevant.

Minuses: Peter. I have to say William Moseley was the weakest actor of the group. He did his stuff pretty well, but he was definately more Peter in LWW than in PC.

I agree to some extent about William's acting. At the same time, I thought he was convincingly annoying as Movie Peter. Yes, they changed Peter's character in PC. Yet I thought Will made a good Movie Peter in PC.

Skandar keeps getting better as an actor. His best shot was issuing the challenge to Miraz for the duel. He stood out among all the adults and that closing shot of Edmund was the one facial shot I was most anticipating in the whole film. On top of that, Skandar has definitely become the best swordsman I have seen on film in quite some time. Not only does he know his sword actions, he has excellent form and style.

Interesting. Thanks for this.

Please confine extended theological discussions to the Narnia and Christianity section (or the appropriate thread in the Spare Oom) so that these topics can be avoided by those who are not interested or who would take offense.

There's nothing wrong with referencing the Biblical themes of the movie, but the thread has gone off into enough of an extended theological discussion that one of the other mods suggested moving it to N&C. Thus the nudge.

You know what I realized this morning? The Narnians in LWW and PC look to the Pevensies to save Narnia. They look to the prophecy in LWW and the past in PC. But in both books, the Pevensies disappoint: Edmund is a traitor in LWW and the Pevensies are "just kids" in PC. But who's the real savior of Narnia? Aslan! And that's what the Narnians must discover for themselves. They must take their eyes off the Pevensies, who are part of the solution, and fix their eyes on Aslan, the real solution!

glumPuddle has said on numerous occasions that the spirit of Prince Caspian (Book) is still present in the movie. That the tale of faith and learning to believe in Aslan, and to trust him, is there. While I can see how that might be argued to be true (actually, I have seen it argued to be true), I still think Prince Caspian was a very unfaithful adaption of the book.

Sure, there was a kind of nod to the idea of having faith in Aslan. I mean, you had to have faith that Aslan was there. He was only in about ten minutes of the entire movie- easy to miss, don't you think?

Lucy says that she sees Aslan when they're by the gorge, but how does that turn out? She falls through some weak ground to find the path down to the Rush, and there is almost no indication that she really saw Aslan.

The walk in the middle of the night where Lucy wakes the others and everyone follows Aslan, even though only Lucy can see him, is gone. This part is very important, because slowly, very slowly, everyone becomes able to see Aslan. This part was especially important for Susan, because it foreshadows that she eventually

Peter's egoistic character basically crushes any idea that he was a smart, mature, awesome King once. He brushes basically everyone aside in his attempt to dominate the story. He acts like a jerk, and the only time where there's even any thought that he did wrong (or apologizes) is when he hands Caspian the sword to kill/spare his own uncle. Whoop de doo. His awful actions of the movie are sort of swept under the rug. No apologies. They had a story to get on with, after all.

The worst part about this film was that Aslan was barely ever there. Aslan is the most important character in the Narnia series. He has a key role in all of the books, and no hoity-toity king-wannabe should be able to push that aside. Aslan did play a main role in PC, but it was kind of lost in the "Epic"ness of the battle sequences and the huge armies.

If I hadn't read the Narnia books, watching Prince Caspian would have just been alright for me. I would have thought, "Cool, it's an okay movie. Whatever." In short, Prince Caspian is not the sort of movie that makes me want to read its book counterpart.

Sure, there was a kind of nod to the idea of having faith in Aslan. I mean, you had to have faith that Aslan was there. He was only in about ten minutes of the entire movie- easy to miss, don't you think?

Lucy says that she sees Aslan when they're by the gorge, but how does that turn out? She falls through some weak ground to find the path down to the Rush, and there is almost no indication that she really saw Aslan.
...
Peter's egoistic character basically crushes any idea that he was a smart, mature, awesome King once. He brushes basically everyone aside in his attempt to dominate the story. He acts like a jerk, and the only time where there's even any thought that he did wrong (or apologizes) is when he hands Caspian the sword to kill/spare his own uncle. Whoop de doo. His awful actions of the movie are sort of swept under the rug. No apologies. They had a story to get on with, after all.

The worst part about this film was that Aslan was barely ever there. Aslan is the most important character in the Narnia series. He has a key role in all of the books, and no hoity-toity king-wannabe should be able to push that aside. Aslan did play a main role in PC, but it was kind of lost in the "Epic"ness of the battle sequences and the huge armies.

I completely disagree. I wrote a PC movie review in March, and I've posted it in a few places online. Here are parts of it.

Aslan and faith: What is faith? "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" [Hebrews 11]. "We walk by faith, not by sight" [2 Corinthians 5]. Faith is more than believing someone exists. It’s trusting someone’s character enough to follow [listen and obey] that person no matter what. Both Lucy and Edmund know Aslan’s character and trust him because of it. They know Aslan hasn’t abandoned them. They know he’ll show up eventually and help them when they need it. They know who really rules Narnia. Lucy and Edmund have had a real encounter with Aslan that’s changed them. This isn’t true for Peter and Susan, who’ve conformed to the ways of the world...

Lucy: Early in the movie, as the Pevensies seek a path across a chasm, Lucy wants her siblings to follow Aslan but listens to them instead of Aslan because they’re older. However, being older doesn’t make them wiser. When it comes to faith, age doesn’t matter. Lucy looks up to Peter because he is the oldest, the family leader. When she is rebuffed, however, she becomes bolder. Lucy tells Peter to wait for Aslan’s instructions instead of trying to fight the Telmarines on his own. During Peter’s battle with Miraz, she waits for Aslan alone in the forest. Aslan is right to chastise Lucy, lightly, for not following him the first time. But he also strengthens her and tells her to be brave. At the bridge, she is willing to fight the Telmarine army alone, with her small dagger. Through her faith in Aslan, Lucy becomes valiant.

Peter: Peter refuses to follow Aslan in the forest. He refuses to listen to Lucy, whom he should know never lies. But when his plan to find a path across the chasm fails and they end up near Miraz’s bridge, Peter must retrace his steps and listen to Lucy. They don’t see Aslan, but they successfully cross the ford. One would think Peter would learn his lesson and trust Lucy’s faith and Aslan’s judgment. But his attitude toward Prince Caspian shows us that Peter hasn’t changed, for he struggles to acknowledge Prince Caspian’s leadership in the changed Narnia. Peter also believes he doesn’t need Aslan to fight the Telmarines. But after his plan to storm Miraz’s castle fails miserably, temporarily Peter is willing to listen to the White Witch. His refusal to follow what is right makes him open to temptation. If it weren’t for Edmund, he might have succumbed. Peter tries to be the high king he was told he would become in LWW. But this won’t happen without Aslan. It’s only after the witch’s image is destroyed that Peter realizes his mistakes, focuses on Aslan’s image instead, and is willing to look for him. Even then, in order to buy time he duels Miraz. It’s a last-ditch effort to overcome the enemy on his own, just in case Lucy doesn’t come back from the forest in time or Aslan doesn’t appear. It’s still hard for Peter to trust Aslan’s judgment.

End of PC when Aslan shows up: What seems impossible to us is easy to God, whether redemption from sin and the devil’s temptations or rescue from a mortal enemy. This is the lesson Peter and Susan must relearn, and what Prince Caspian and the Narnians must see for themselves. Through the preservation of the stone table and the wall paintings surrounding it, Peter and his siblings discover that the Narnians have recorded the story of their first journey to Narnia: Mr. Tumnus, the rescue of Edmund, and the crowning of the four kings and queens. Most importantly, it’s the story of what Aslan did for Narnia in destroying the power of the White Witch. It’s their faith in the story that keeps the Narnians’ faith in Aslan alive. It prepares them to receive the Pevensies when they return. Unfortunately, it also makes them trust Peter, the high king, more than Prince Caspian, the Telmarine newcomer. But through Peter’s failed assault on the castle, in which hundreds of Narnians die, everyone begins to realize that victory can come only through Aslan. Only he can conquer the enemy. He did it before through his death on the stone table, and he’ll do it again if they’ll just believe in him. How does Aslan do it? By waking up the trees and the sea that, in a scene reminiscent of Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea, destroys the Telmarines’ bridge.

How much of the time is God present in the Bible? Not that often! But He's behind the scenes orchestrating everything. Not being physically present doesn't make God nonexistent or mean He isn't in control!

glumPuddle has said on numerous occasions that the spirit of Prince Caspian (Book) is still present in the movie. That the tale of faith and learning to believe in Aslan, and to trust him, is there. While I can see how that might be argued to be true (actually, I have seen it argued to be true), I still think Prince Caspian was a very unfaithful adaption of the book.

I agree that you can only argue that PC the film is a faithful adaption in the broadest sense of the words. I mean of the six main characters, Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, Caspian, and Aslan. I would only say that Edmund was at all like he is in the book and this is not Edmund's book. Peter, Susan, and Caspian are not in anyway themselves. Aslan is not the god in PC the film, just the leader of the kings and queens. Lucy is barely like her character with all the staying behind while they fight and acting a little friendly with the dlf.

I would say that the secondary characters are like themselves: Trumpkin, Trufflehunter, Nikabrick, and Reepicheep, but after failing so badly with the other characters i am not sure if it makes it up for me in the end.

For me, i always think of characters and their motivation. I am actually very forgiving of the change in Peter's character. I think that was a very interesting insight into his motivation and would have accepted it if they would have done a better job of redeeming him in the end. Susan's motivation of doing everything to sort of back up Caspian was absolutely silly in every possible way. They had a great scene to where she speaks to Lucy by the fire that could have been great motivation, but alas what would have been. With Lucy they needed to do a better job of showing her faith without making her seem haughty. It is very hard for me to explain what i disliked about Lucy this time around because i thought she did such a great job in LWW. Caspian, i am also forgiving of some of the change, but they should have had yearning to know about Aslan and not have him pining over Susan the entire film. Aslan does not act like the god in Narnia in the film, but simply the leader of the kings and queens and the children treat him thus.

I won't even go into the bad duel and the bad dialogue. The locations, sets, and costumes looked good, but it didn't do it for me.

I may be one of very few who will say this, but I love the movie of PC! I enjoy everything.....except the kiss with Caspian and Susan! that is the only thing I don't like! but I love everything else!
The night raid was SO sad but it showed how hasty Peter was being and the outcome of him not waiting for Aslan and I thought it added a good part to the movie!

I had severe problems with the changes of the characters' personalities. Overall there seemed to be a lack of respect and reverence in so many areas. Even if they had had to make the big changes they did, part of the "magic" about the book PC is how Caspian knows the story of the Old Days and yearns to help the magical aspects of Narnia, which are present in LWW, return.

Caspian:

* The movie started out with his fleeing the castle. It was an excellent action scene to draw in the viewer, but if I am not mistaken, Caspian's background was missed entirely. A viewer who has not read the book will not catch that Caspian always loved the stories. This is reduced to the ever-so-short scene at Aslan's How (right after the White Witch's little appearance) in which Caspian asks Dr. Cornelius, "How come you never told me about my father?" For all we know, he may not have even known the 4 existed!

* He blew the Horn so quickly. Even if I were a person of royalty fleeing for my life, finding myself in the same scenario he was in, I would be hesitant to blow an ancient horn that "may bring back the High Kings and Queens, and maybe even Aslan himself, from the deep past." What was the use of blowing the horn at that moment anyway, rather than simply a good film transition to Susan and Lucy? What was he thinking -- that he should call back the ancient rulers to help him because the soldiers are coming after him? I don't get it!

* When the 4 finally do appear, I find it to be a great scene -- Caspian and Peter both dueling each other. It might even have some humor to it, if you like. And it could have stayed there, but all I recall Caspian doing once he learns he just dueled the High King is say, "King Peter?" and turn to stare at Susan. I don't know, how can he be so little in awe of them?

Peter:

* I found him to be stunningly childish, at least at the beginning of the movie, considering he has been an adult for so many years. The first thing we do after seeing the High King in the last movie at his coronation is fighting a bunch of school-age kids? He should be above that! As Susan said, "Why couldn't you just walk away?"

* What was he doing treating Caspian like that? And why did Susan consistently take Caspian's side? "No one has ever taken the castle." Peter was an experienced war general; he was not supposed to be the cause of the war gone badly.

Now, just to balance out this post, I do think it was a great movie. (Yes, I do...) I understand there must have been challenges with the strange set time-line. Not compared to the books, it is action-filled, gripping, etc. It stands as a good story. I feel that everything was wrapped up very well too. And it did have great dramatized character arcs (not involving the books... ). For example:

* Considering Peter and Caspian's problems towards each other throughout most of the film, it was touching to see Peter hand him Rhindon when he left; it shows that they are now in agreement with each other and on good terms. (And that had better last into VDT with Edmund! At least most of the time.)

* I found Susan to be very cool. I was delighted to see a female on the battlefield, and actually one of my favorite parts of the movie is her stunt where she takes on 5 Telmarines. I did miss Lucy though; it might have been nice to see her do a stunt or two! She's not the sweet, innocent child in LWW; she's been a queen since then. Her personalities and Susan's got switched---But that's getting onto the negatives.

* Believe it or not, the night raid was cool...to an extent. At least, I found it to be nice and original. Although it was very sad at the end, and I wonder if it may have gotten too intense.

Well, that's all for now

Lady Galadriel

* When the 4 finally do appear, I find it to be a great scene -- Caspian and Peter both dueling each other. It might even have some humor to it, if you like. And it could have stayed there, but all I recall Caspian doing once he learns he just dueled the High King is say, "King Peter?" and turn to stare at Susan. I don't know, how can he be so little in awe of them?

It might have been a great scene had not this scenario been done to death. Almost every single superhero has been involved with this plot at one time or another. One group of heroes runs into the new group of heroes and mistakes the new group for supervillains through some inane series of events. They fight, then realize just as things are about to get nasty that they're all superheroes. Very disappointing that the screenwriters felt it necessary to fall back on cliches and lazy writing.

220Christian:

You have many great arguments that I can certainly agree with. But you seem to be arguing that the movie was a good movie as a movie. I can agree with even that.

On my points, I was arguing that the movie was an awful movie in terms of adaption. The points that I stated were wording my frustration that they changed so many things of the book that I treasure and I wish had kept the same. The storyline, even, would have been stronger for it.

Overall I liked it just as much as LWW, a lot.
The only things I didn't like was the fight in the train station, the Peter/ Caspian conflict, and the Susan/Caspian Romance (although it wasn't as bad as I originally feared) I thought that the CGI was amazing compared to the first movie, I'm actually glad they reorganized the plot and added Lucy's dream sequence. They pulled off the Cair Paraval scene perfectly, and The Tree Scene was my favorite scene in the whole movie. I also loved the Aslan/Reepicheep scene. The castle raid was all right, though a few less casualties on the Narnian side would have been appreciated, but I'm glad the Pensevies sword fighting improved. I also kind of wish Susan went with Lucy at the end, but then it would have taken away from the scene where she has the conversation with Aslan. Overall however it ranks up in the top of my all-time favorites list.

It was very good as films go but having read the book and being able to make comparisons lead me to be somewhat more critical than I may, perhaps, otherwise have been.

I disliked the following aspects of the film:

The attack on Miraz's castle which I thought strayed too much from the original plot of the book.

Ben Barnes was too old to play Caspian as I felt the Prince should have been closer to Peter's age but that is no criticism on him or his acting.

I didn't like Peter's attitude which I felt was completely wrong even though his (William Moseley's) acting was fine.

The 'romance' between Caspian and Susan and that kiss was definately not in keeping with the Narnian theme IMO and I felt it was just added to provide an interest to 'gushy teens'. Same with the Regina Spektor song. It's a nice song in it's own right but I felt it was out of place in the film and included for the same reasons given above. I think C.S. Lewis would cringe if he watched the kiss scene.
(No offense to any 'gushy teens' BTW. )

I felt Reepicheep was a bit cocky. He's meant to be brave and valiant and there is a difference between cockiness and bravery/valiance.

The fight in the Underground station at the start was a bit too ugly and dirty.

The part at the end where Bulgy Bear is standing with Dr Cornelius, Trumpkin, Reepicheep and Trufflehunter alongside Aslan. If you've read the book you will know that this character plays a part in the story. They edited most of the bear's part out of the film as can be seen on the DVD's deleted scenes (if you have it). If you don't have the DVD and have never read the book you might be asking yourself what the bear is doing there with the rest of them and what part has he played?
As they edited out the bear's part then why not edit him out from the end scene as he's only CGI?

I particularly liked the following aspects of the film:

I thought Miraz, Trumpkin and Nikabrick where very well casted and very well played by their respective actors alongside the four siblings of course.

The small touches such as the picture of the Kings and Queens in the book in Dr Cornelius' study and the wall paintings in Aslan's How which I felt gave more substance to the story of the Kings and Queens coming out of/being called from the past.

I liked the hag and werewolf scene where they attempt to conjure up the white witch. I know that in the book they only talk about doing this as opposed to actually attempting it but I felt it was a bonus.

The scenes in the Underground station at the start (apart from the fight) and at the end were good. I particularly liked the way the camera follows Lucy's head as she walks through the 'door' that Aslan has created and the scene seamlessly changes from Narnia to the Underground station.

PC's biggest problem, in my opinion, is the character changes. Sure, it can be argued that most of the characters were true to their book personalities, and while that may be true, the problem is the fact that three of our five main characters are extremely different from, if not in total contradiction to, their book personalities.

Peter: Honestly, I think I could have tolerated his character change if only it had been handled better. I can understand the reasoning behind Peter's personality change. I can understand how terrible and awkward a change he had to go through - from being an older and well respected king (the High King to boot) back to a young and powerless teenage boy. I get it, I really do. What I don't get is how he turned into a pompous, blatantly arrogant boy who fights with someone when they want him to apologize for bumping into them. That is not Peter Pevensie. It just isn't. If they really had to have him have his little struggle with being a kid again when he was once a king, then they could have handled it a lot better. Peter's frustration could have been more subtle, not his bratty "I'm right, you're wrong, so shut it" stuff he said to Trumpkin (not exactly in those words, of course, but that's pretty much what he meant when he says "That explains it then: You're mistaken"). Peter acted more like Eustace Scrubb than Peter Pevensie in this movie, and that's not a good thing.

However, I will give them some credit in that at least they tried for some sort of character development that might not have been there otherwise since they were focusing mostly on "epic" action sequences and the like. It wasn't the best attempt at character development, but they tried and I will give them that.

Susan: PCMovie!Susan was in total contradiction to Book!Susan's character. Susan does not, I repeat, does NOT fight. Please don't misunderstand me. I don't at all think that women should never fight; quite the contrary, I'm a big fan of "Girl Power" and strong female leads and the like. However, not every single female character is meant to fight. Some will, some won't. Susan falls into the second category. She doesn't like to fight and she doesn't want to fight. Heck, she didn't even enjoy having to beat Trumpkin in their archery duel in the book (that I really would have liked to be in the film, but that's beside the point). It clearly states this in the book: "[Susan] was not enjoying her match half so much as Edmund had enjoyed his; not because she had any doubt about hitting the apple but because Susan was so tender-hearted that she almost hated to beat someone who had been beaten already" (PC, Chapter 8). In addition, in the part where Trumpkin shoots the bear rather than Susan (which, thankfully, was kept in the movie) it clearly states, "[Susan] hated killing things" (PC, Chapter 9). What part of that line did they not understand? I don't understand how one could miss it.

If they really wanted to have some females fighting, why not have Lucy fight more? It's perfectly in-character for her. Or how about that one female centaur who I think was Glenstorm's wife? Or show some female dwarves or fauns or satyrs fighting? It's really not that hard to send the message, "Both men and women can fight," without changing a main character's personality.

Caspian: Caspian's change, truthfully, isn't quite as bad as Peter's and Susan's changes. I understand that they had to make him older since he ought to be about the same age as Peter and Peter in the movie is a bit older than the book, so I really don't have big problems with Caspian's age. However, while being older in age, it seemed that he lost some of the awe and reverence for the Old Narnia that he had in the book. It's there a little bit but not completely. That's mostly because of the ridiculous "romance" between Caspian and Susan. Because the filmmakers' decided to have the two crushing on each other, some of the respect and reverence Caspian ought to have vanished. This is one of the reasons why I do not like the Suspian romance/crush/thing (the other reason being that it was completely pointless, ridiculous, and is not canon in any way, shape, or form). It took away from the wonder of Caspian finding out that Old Narnia is real. Though I think the lack of wonder also stems from the Nurse and the lessons up in the tower with Dr. Cornelius being left out.

Just so this isn't a totally negative post, I'll list the things I did like about PC:
~The transition from the train station to the beach at the beginning - very nicely done!
~The Night Raid - to an extent; I mostly like the end because, while it's very sad and emotional, it finally slaps Peter's arrogance in the face
~The White Witch scene - Though it wasn't in the book (not completely, anyway, since they only talked about it), I really enjoyed the scene, mostly because of Edmund's part in it
~Most of the actors did very well with what they were given for their characters
~I did enjoy the duel between Peter and Miraz for the most part, though it was rather annoying when it kept being interrupted and during a few brief moments I was confused on which person was Peter and which one was Miraz because of the crazy twists and turns of the camera angles

And I'd better stop there or I might go on forever.

I felt Reepicheep was a bit cocky. He's meant to be brave and valiant and there is a difference between cockiness and bravery/valiance.

Hooray! Somebody agrees with me! My sister thought that he was so far removed from his character that she has taken to calling him the MIR (Mouse Impersonating Reepicheep).