It was Completely unnecessary. Because I think they should have been playing chess instead.

This scene felt like it came from nowhere and jumped out at you. Overall I'm glad they had it in there because it lead up to the friendship they have at the end.

I couldn't really focus on it because I'd read too many behind the scenes articles and interviews. I was busy thinking "Look out, Ben!!! Skandar's gonna hit you in the face!!!!!!! " lol. It was good fun though. Maybe not necessary, but fun is a good thing. It's good not to be so serious all the time and I'm glad they weren't too uptight while on the ship.

I liked it a lot! wasn't there something in the book about it though?!? or was it really an addition?

It shows ship life and the character build of Edmund and Caspian. Being a swordsman, of course I like it. But in a movie context, it is absolutely necessary? I wouldn't say that, but I could say the same thing for many other things as well. There is no explicit sparing in the book (from what I can recall) but I think this is a good, fun addition. It doesn't deter from the original story or take away critical character development or plot development. Yes, they could have taken that scene out and used the time on another scene, but I think they should have made the movie longer for that situation. I'm glad they had it.

I thought it was pretty good, and it was kind of realistic. Since Ed was already really annoyed at Caspian and being under the gold-spell when Caspian shoved him away with a challenge what else would he do?

That's not what we're talking about aragorn2. We're talking about the for-fun sparing scene on the deck of the Dawn Treader shortly after Caspian gives them the tour of the Dawn Treader. Of course, it would have been interesting to see Eustace's realization of Edmund's and Lucy's skills were real and not just what he thought them to be.

Ooohh, Well I liked that scene too

I really like the scene. It showed how much both Ed and Caspian has grown. I like how we got to see Ed sword fighting in all three movies; of course his fight with WW was brief in LWW but he was great in it, I was really impressed by Ed's fight with Trumpkin and I always thought Skandar was more believable as a skilled swordsman in PC than Will, and of course, he has gotten even better here.

Caspian had been shown as rather timid and uncertain about himself in PC. His confidence really came through in this scene and I think VDT Caspian is indeed a much better role for him than PC Caspian.

The scene is not absolutely necessary but I think it makes an great addition because I imagine it's just a natural thing two swordsmen would do for passing time Also, it's moment like this rather than dialog that showed the brotherly relationship Ed and Caspian shared.

I disagree with people who say it's unnecessary. Right, it's not in the book, it doesn't add anything to the plot, but I think it provides a great lighthearted scene as well as showing the friendship between Caspian-Ed/the Pevensies. It also provides nice setup for the Goldwater Island tension, showing how two great kings who initially admire each other can fall into temptation and envy each other (remember how Caspian wanted to give Ed Peter's sword at the beginning and Ed humbly refused). And if nothing else, it shows how Ed feels so at home in Narnia being a king of old and all that as opposed to in England where he's just a normal teen.

This is one of the things that I have explored with my writing (which my first novel is about to be released): doing character development through action. So many times, it is done through dialogue or individual revelation, but rarely done through an action scene. And even more rarely without dialogue mixed in there to be the 'development'. You could look at this sword fight scene knowing nothing about Edmund or Caspian other than their names and you could tell they are experienced swordsmen and very good friends.

And yes, jo_yan, I am an experienced swordsman (12 1/2 years of fencing experience) and I agree whole-heartedly that Skandar is much more convincing of being an experienced swordsman than Will Mosely. Peter was a hack and slash fighter with very big and emotional moves. Those are so easy to read, as we saw in his fight with the White Witch. But Edmund's fighting style is with form and accuracy. Pit movie Peter against Edmund in a fight and Edmund would win hands down. Caspian in PC was almost the same with big and wild moves, while VDT Caspian definately showed improvement. I really like it when they do sword fights right, and this sparring scene is easily one of the best in the series.

I loved the duel scene - like others said, it shows their friendship through action instead of dialog, which was something the movie as a whole unfortunately didn't do. I was a little confused by the abruptness; in fact, I think the piece of dialog "You're getting stronger, my friend" from Caspian to Edmund is supposed to indicate the passage of time - that they've dueled before and Edmund was getting stronger in the Narnian air.

But I liked that it was a friendly duel, and that they ended in a 'draw' and were just having a good time. And yes, I think Edmund continued to be a great swordsman, and that Caspian vastly improved from PC.

I liked the sparring scene. It came off very natural, even though it wasn't in the book. And it contrasts with the scene later where they almost seriously fight under the influence of Goldwater.

On a related note, they could have had some scenes showing Lucy and Reep playing chess or Reep and Eustace playing chess but they didn't. I would have liked to see Reep overenthusiastic and thinking he was really fighting for the Queen.

Eustace, please explain why you think they should've been playing chess. That just strikes me as a bit silly. I enjoyed the sparring scene. It was fun and gave the movie a little breathing space, which is so desperately needed.