THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

So I went to see this movie with somebody who've read the book and is a very big fan of the Chronicles of Narnia novels... bad idea! Ironically, I was the one who gave the book to her a couple of years back as a birthday present, but I haven't read the book myself. So she was pretty amped up to see this movie... that is until she saw it.

Apparently, there were a lot of deviations that were made from book to movie. One of the most obvious one is that they turned Prince Caspian in to a full-grown adolescent whereas in the book he was just a kid. This was probably to "make" a love story between Prince Caspian and Susan. I say "make" because the romance was non-existent in the book, and this is what irritated my friend the most. But I can't blame her for it, because the romance (or the lack of it) between Caspian and Susan was really awkward to say the least. It was kind of there, but not really. It felt like they just threw it in there just to be able to say that the movie had a love story in it. Seriously, the dwarf and Lucy had more chemistry. I could go on and on with the disparity between the book and film but I'd like to state what I saw from My standpoint.

Simply put, I like this movie compared to the first. All I can remember from the first movie was how bratish (not a word) Edmund was and how I wanted to beat him up. This movie was more adventurous and exciting. The story progresses smoothly in a non-boring way, I didn't even feel the two hours pass by. The SFX were rough around the edges for a big-budgeted film, there were a lot of sloppy CGI work in there. However, the battle scenes were fiercer, albeit still bloodless, this is a kid's movie after all. Although in the final battle, I can't help but think hmmmmmmm... Lord of the Rings.

So how do I conclude this. Reading some of the comments of people who've seen the film and read and loved the book... they weren't happy... not happy at all. I experienced this first hand and got an earful. I've never seen my friend so vocal about a movie, and for me that says it all - literally. On the flip side, it's really a rousing fantasy that I thought I wouldn't enjoy but I eventually had fun watching it. If there's only a way to satisfy everybody. Doubt it.