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Last night B&R and I watched the first half of the theatrical Prince Caspian movie, and... it kinda sucks. Some things may improve in the second half, but nothing is going to change the fact that it's extremely poorly structured, and absolutely oozing with skeevy race/culture stuff.
It's usually a good idea to introduce a character before asking your audience to care whether or not he gets shot in his bed - even if said character looks a lot like Santiago Cabrera. But the movie starts with the birth of Miraz' son, and then goes to Dr. Cornelius going to wake Caspian and helping him escape. (And, as B&R said, Miraz is supposed to be a baddie because he's a stuffy grown-up who hates and fears fairy tales, not because he's a swarthy big-nosed pointy-bearded heavily-accented candidate for the no-fly list.)
Also, if you're going to play up a wartime setting, and make a point of changing the station where the Pevensies are waiting for their train(s) from a sleepy country junction to a stop on the Underground (which, what?)... then having the magic begin to manifest by HAVING THE ROOF FALL IN should be accompanied by the kids FREAKING THE HELL OUT.
Furthermore, the discovery that the ruins are actual Cair Paravel is one of the most delightful bits in the whole series, and rushing it totally ruins it. (I also really, really miss the whole bit with the sandwiches, but I'd give that up for a properly built-up reveal about hundreds of years having passed in Narnia.)
Finally, decide whether you're doing a movie about the Pevensies or a movie about Caspian, and make subsequent decisions accordingly. Don't flip-flop.
There are some significant good bits, notably Eddie Izzard as the voice of Reepicheep and Anna Popewell (as Susan) kicking ass in archery, but overall, it's looking like a big-budget disappointment.
It's usually a good idea to introduce a character before asking your audience to care whether or not he gets shot in his bed - even if said character looks a lot like Santiago Cabrera. But the movie starts with the birth of Miraz' son, and then goes to Dr. Cornelius going to wake Caspian and helping him escape. (And, as B&R said, Miraz is supposed to be a baddie because he's a stuffy grown-up who hates and fears fairy tales, not because he's a swarthy big-nosed pointy-bearded heavily-accented candidate for the no-fly list.)
Also, if you're going to play up a wartime setting, and make a point of changing the station where the Pevensies are waiting for their train(s) from a sleepy country junction to a stop on the Underground (which, what?)... then having the magic begin to manifest by HAVING THE ROOF FALL IN should be accompanied by the kids FREAKING THE HELL OUT.
Furthermore, the discovery that the ruins are actual Cair Paravel is one of the most delightful bits in the whole series, and rushing it totally ruins it. (I also really, really miss the whole bit with the sandwiches, but I'd give that up for a properly built-up reveal about hundreds of years having passed in Narnia.)
Finally, decide whether you're doing a movie about the Pevensies or a movie about Caspian, and make subsequent decisions accordingly. Don't flip-flop.
There are some significant good bits, notably Eddie Izzard as the voice of Reepicheep and Anna Popewell (as Susan) kicking ass in archery, but overall, it's looking like a big-budget disappointment.
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I was really disappointed that they cut all the Caspian-bonds-with-Cornelius stuff; it's delightful, and even if it's a bit talky, I think it could have worked well on the big screen (the stargazing stuff!) Instead we got all the Pevensies in wartime stuff, which just felt off to me.