I think I grinned through almost all of the film, lol. I didn't get as hyped up beforehand as I often do with films I really want to see but it really blew me away.
NB: My quotes probably won't be exactly accurate but will give the gist of what I'm talking about.
I love how at the beginning it shows how frustrating it must be to have this whole other life full of wonder and beauty and strength and then to find yourself back in a slightly patronising, 'easy' life with little to challenge you (Peter fighting etc. P-"I hate how everyone treats us like kids" E-"But we are kids"P- "Yeah well we weren't always" - reminded again of this when Lucy finds her old dress and the whole L-"I was so tall" S-"Well you were older then" E-"Yeah, hundreds of years ago, and now you're younger").
I think it's great how this film shows a slightly different story to the whole 'good' and 'evil'. Whereas the first film showed the white witch and her lot with the dwarves, minotaurs etc. as 'evil' and Aslan and the centaurs etc. as 'good'; this film shows a bit more of how different sides can band together in certain circumstances and so on. Also showed in terms of the Christian or spiritual side about all the frustration, temptation etc. - the Narnians giving up on Aslan because he didn't seem to be there, even the children (apart from Lucy), and trying to do things on their own, even trying to use the bad forces (Nikabrik encouraging Caspian with the whole White Witch revival thing). But really the only way to succeed was to find Aslan, and the one person who could do that was the one who still had hope - Lucy.
Other factors: loved the settings (gotta love NZ) - absolutely magnificent, the main characters (Caspian and the 'Kings and Queens') are of course gorgeous, the storyline was great and yeah...
I thought the tactical side was much more interesting in terms of battle (possibly a tribute to the experience the quartet would have acquired whilst ruling Narnia before) - such as cutting down underneath the army to make the ground collapse and having hidden ramps to come out of the ground behind the army. The ent-like trees were great.
I thought the whole Susan-Caspian thing was fabulously done, the earlier 'intense' looks and their comments (S-"Keep it, you might need to call me later") and of course (the thing everyone saw coming) the kiss. Thought the stuff before the kiss were perfectly done (S-"It never would have worked anyway" C-"Why not?" S-"Well, I am 1300 years older than you") and the comments from the others too (L-"I'm sure when I'm older I'll understand" E-"I'm older and I think I want to understand"). I like how it shows that Susan is growing up as well, because of course after this adventure Susan does grow up and never goes back to Narnia again (and of course, neither does Peter - which I think is a shame, because if they do more Narnia films I will desperately miss Anna and Will in them as I think they bring a certain feel to it that I love - though of course Skandar and Georgie will hopefully continue to bring their wonderful auras in as well). I'm glad they did actually state that Peter and Susan wouldn't be coming back, and I'm glad it wasn't a terrible tearful thing as well though it was a bit depressing when you saw them back at the train station...
I wasn't sure about Prince Caspian's accent when I first saw clips of the film but having properly seen the film now I think it worked rather well, it had that sort of 'foreign' feel without having a distinct 'that's Spanish' or something. It's definitely right that Prince Caspian shouldn't sound English or American or something anyway, it would have been weird.
I thought Miraz was played very well of course, and the general and the other council member people too.
Weta workshop did wonderful work on all the creatures, and of course the masks for the battle scene which I was most impressed with, I felt the Telmarines were more menacing when you couldn't see any human emotion in their faces (it actually sort of reminded me of Death Eaters masks in HP).
I loved the badger - I felt it brought back a sense of the first film where there were more of the smaller, more 'normal' creatures (the beavers, the fox etc.) as opposed to the centaurs and dwarves and minotaurs etc.
I loved the DLF comment :P. And the whole 'You're a mouse!' thing with Reepicheep.
The most heartbreaking moment was when Peter (and the others) had to leave some of their people behind, trapped in the Telmarine castle/fortress, being killed.
I thought the happiest moments were saying goodbye at the end, the peaks of the fight (when they all banded together and charged into the chaos) and the when they first arrived and were delighted to be back.
Skandar didn't seem to have that much talking in this one I felt, Edmund seemed a bit more mature which was good (apart from the fight at the beginning), he seemed to be more of a listener than a talker in this one. However his fight scenes spoke for themselves - truly awesome. And the thing with the flashlight was amusing :).
Anna Popplewell is wonderful, the whole archer thing with her (and leadership) is expertly done in this film, showing her forte as a warrior. Also, particularly noticed her costume in this one, absolutely adored her fighting outfit when she's in the forest after just sending Lucy off to find Aslan.
Well, since I'm commenting on it I would also say that costume in this film is generally amazing and so a fantastic job to the people in charge of designing and making them.
William Moseley is amazing (and rather attractive), loved the fight scenes - particularly the one with Miraz. Also quite liked his friction with Prince Caspian as to who was leading their merry group of warriors.
Ah, and now we come to the lovely Georgie, so grown up from the last film. I think it's wonderful how Lucy has this ceaseless faith in Aslan that brings hope when seems lost.
Ben Barnes is great, I think he played the character of Prince Caspian wonderfully and was exactly right for the part; I do want to hear his normal accent though (as I think I read somewhere that he put on the accent - which would make sense), so might go find something on Youtube or something later.
I could continue on to other actors but I really can't be bothered, lol, these were the ones I felt like talking about so you know.
Oh! I just realised that I haven't mentioned the music! I adored the music in this film, totally fell in love with it. Absolute favourite song (I think) is 'The Call' - Regina Spektor (played when they're leaving, just after Susan kisses Prince Caspian); also quite like 'This is Home' -Switchfoot. But you know, overall, brilliant. I also thought it was great how they brought in bits from the first film (obviously music style was the same anyway but they did bring in sections from songs in the first film that I noticed).
Anyway, all in all I think this was the best film I've seen in a long time, despite all the good films I've watched recently, I don't know if that's because it was actually a generally better film or because of the whole 'cinema' experience but I reckon it's probably a bit of both.
Yes... Mmm... Happy :). Very much a feel good experience.
In other news, have been going to the gym and swimming quite a few times recently so rather happy with my new regime. Was doing boxing earlier today and can definitely feel it in my left arm right now. Achy :(.
Oh well, such is life. Need to do a lot more art work as I've not really sorted out all the stuff I need to do yet... Will blog about it some other time. Oh yes, also, just started reading 'PS, I Love You' (Cecelia Ahern), and so far so good. Do want to see the film at some point too.
Oh yes, also, have borrowed and watched 'Penelope'. Very good film (though not as good as I feel this one was right now). Might do a review of that some other time. Love the kiss scene, very amusing, particularly watching James McAvoy's face as he seems to debate in his head whether or not it is her. Well, watch it and you'll understand.
Yes, yes, anywho, going to go listen to some more Narnia soundtrack songs, read a bit of my book, think about 'Prince Caspian' and how wonderful it was, possibly pack some stuff for swimming tomorrow morning (if I make myself wake up early enough - not that I'm doing anything later, I just like going early morning, sets me up for a good productive day) and then get some sleep.
So today I am feeling very content. Life is good.
The Call - Regina Spektor
It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye
Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before
All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are
As you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say goodbye
[Instrumental]
Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
Til they're before your eyes
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say goodbye
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